FC Barcelona has won this Thursday the LaLiga EA Sports by defeating RCD Espanyol (0-1) in the Catalan derby played at the RCDE Stadium, in an intense, heated, and close match that began with a massive altercation outside the ‘perico’ stronghold, which saw Lamine Yamal score a great goal that secured the title, paving the way for a celebration by the ‘culer’ fans on the grass of their neighbor, just like in the last Liga won by Xavi’s Barça in 2023.
Lamine Yamal didn’t want to wait to go party and, in a typical move, scored the first goal. Because it seemed like the only one, but Fermín López was able to celebrate this time the 0-2, with a beautiful goal that allowed him to forget the one that was disallowed in the Clásico.
Almost no celebration in the field
Barça, however, couldn’t celebrate too much the title on the field, because some Espanyol players wanted to get them off the field. Also, Hansi Flick himself asked his players to go to the locker room. And just in case, the blanquiazul club turned on the sprinklers to water the champions.
All of this prevented a repeat of what was seen in 2023, when Barça celebrated the league title with a ‘sardana’ in the center of the field and several ‘pericos’ fans jumped onto the pitch to go after the blaugranas. This time, the heavy security and the fact that Flick sent his players to the locker room prevented a repeat of the incident. It seemed as if Barça was not the champion because the celebration did not even warrant a victory in a derby with nothing at stake. But yes, Barça recovered the league title by winning again in Cornellà.
He did it in a close match, in which Espanyol had three clear chances to score, well thwarted by Wojciech Szczesny who did well the little work he had. It was not, by any means, the best game for a Barça that performed poorly in the first half and slightly improved in the second, where at least they had the necessary aim, thanks to Lamine Yamal’s masterpiece and Fermín’s dedication, to secure the title and not depend on having to score against Villarreal or Athletic Club.
How did Barcelona start to recover the league title? Well, it was with Lamine Yamal. The Spanish international received a ball on the right wing, far from the goal, but quickly started a run towards the goal where he left his markers behind and, quickly loading his left foot, sent a well-placed shot to the top corner of the net, leaving Joan Garcia with nothing to do but turn his head to see the amazing goal, a trademark of Lamine Yamal, that gave the league title to his team at that time.
And that’s despite Espanyol starting strong. In the 4th minute, a good through ball from Roberto Fernández reached Urko González, who shot wide against the opposition of Ronald Araujo and the charge of Wojciech Szczesny. In the 16th minute, Javi Puado had another great chance in a one-on-one against Szczesny, who this time made a crucial save preventing Espanyol’s first goal. Espanyol didn’t come close to scoring again until well into the second half, in the 73rd minute and already losing, when Szczesny denied Cabrera in another one-on-one, before being sent off in the 80th minute for an aggression, reviewed by VAR, against Lamine Yamal.
At Barça, the progression was clear. Because they went from an occasional opportunity for Robert Lewandowski, a forced starter due to the last-minute absence of Ferran Torres -who underwent emergency appendicitis surgery- and who had a couple of chances before leaving, lacking rhythm. And in his place came Fermín, who didn’t stop working until he could make up for the disallowed goal in the Clásico with a goal from a cross shot, touched by Joan Garcia and assisted by Lamine.
FC Barcelona, which now holds its 28th league title, improved as the match progressed and was already better than its rival in the final stretch of the first half. In the second half, with Pau Cubarsí on the field due to a possible injury to Ronald Araujo, they performed even better. With Pedri leading the way, and Lamine confident in being able to deliver the title to his teammates and fans. An amazing goal by the author led to a calmer ending, also causing Cabrera’s expulsion and assisting Fermín’s goal. Lamine smiled and Barcelona, despite the limited celebration, headed to the dressing room as champions.
Massive collision marked the beginning of the match
The match was stopped for a moment, around the 8th minute of play, because part of the crowd was asking their goalkeeper Joan Garcia not to take a goal kick and to stop the game due to the massive collision that occurred in the vicinity of the stadium shortly before the start of the match.
But the Mossos d’Esquadra and the club, through the stadium’s loudspeaker system, described what happened as an accident, with 13 minor injuries and none serious. The referee from La Rioja, César Soto Grado, after speaking with a representative from the Mossos and with the delegates and members of both teams, indicated that the match should resume, which ended up giving the league title to a Barça that repeated their feat from 2023 in Cornellà.