The main football news of the past weekend: Barcelona at last regained the title of the best team in Spain. However, due to the fact that the victory was obtained on the field of sworn rivals from Espanyol, it has not yet been possible to properly celebrate the long-awaited triumph. Moreover, the «golden» match of the Catalans almost ended in a brawl — the results of the meeting at the Cornella-El Prat stadium will be discussed in the material Sport.
A reminder of past greatnessOn the eve of the 34th round, the championship intrigue was breathing its last, because Barcelona could take gold even before the starting whistle of the away match with Espanyol. To do this, Madrid had to stumble, and in Catalonia they were waiting for misfires from Real Madrid and Atlético. But if the «mattress» in the meeting with «Elche» lost points (0:1), then the «royal club» defeated «Getafe» (1:0) and put off the triumph of «blue garnet».
Admittedly, it didn't last long. Encouraged, Barça showed off at the home arena of Espanyol, with the efforts of Robert Lewandowski (double), Alejandro Balde and Jules Kunde, bringing the score to 4:0 already by the 53rd minute. Then the favorite relaxed, and Javier Puado and Joselu scored among the hosts, which did not upset either Xavi's coach or the millionth army of fans of the Spanish grand… So, four rounds before the finish of La Liga of the 2022/23 season, the Catalans with 85 points became inaccessible to the capital pursuers (Real Madrid 71 points, Atlético 69).
The main thing about the triumph of the Catalans
- «Barcelona » won the title for the first time in four years (not since the 2018/19 season);
- This is the 27th gold in the blue garnet collection. Only Real Madrid have more (35);
- Also, for the first time in 24 years, Barca became the national champion without Lionel Messi.
By the way, Real Madrid was one of the first to congratulate Barcelona on their triumph on social networks. br>
A little about the heroes of the «blue garnet»
- Havi. Despite an unconvincing performance in European competition (eliminated from the UEFA Champions League after the group stage and immediately defeated in the Europa League by Manchester United), the Spanish specialist, who led Barça in November 2021, saved the season and won La Liga for the first time in as head coach;
- Robert Lewandowski. The Polish scorer wins the national championship already with the fourth team: before that there were Lech, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern. And the 34-year-old scorer was the first since Critter Ronaldo to score over 30 goals for Barcelona in his debut season;
- Sergio Busquets. Saying goodbye to his native club, the midfielder won the 32nd trophy with the Catalans. Andreas Iniesta has the same amount, and only Leo has more (35).
Party in the lair of the enemy The last thing Barcelona wanted to think about after defeating Espanyol was how restrain emotions. And why? After the derby, the players, coaches and staff gathered in the center circle and did what looked like a round dance, celebrating the title.
Fans of «parrots» did not like such a show at their home. They began to break into the field, which forced the «Barcelona» hastily off the lawn. The players literally ran to the locker room while the guards blocked the area under the stands (where was it when the fans rushed from the stands?), preventing the players from chasing. This infuriated the crowd even more. Chairs, railings and everything else that fell into the hands of the angry Espanyol fans flew to the security service.
Fortunately, no casualties have been reported at the moment.
Despite the unpleasant aftertaste, Javi decided to smooth over the unpleasant incident. Here is how the Spaniard commented on what happened (the words are quoted by Marca):
“
“We won La Liga in a derby, which is unusual. It's okay to celebrate, but I understand that we're not at home, so you can't be disrespectful. It's hard to hold back, but I told the players that the best thing they can do now is —is to leave the field as soon as possible".
Judging by the photo, Xavi's guys weren't too upset made some noise in the locker room.
Waiting for the greatest guests poured into the streets of Barcelona and began to chant «Messi! Messi!». The intrigue in the championship has died, but the intrigue around the future of Leo is more alive than all the living. Will the 2022 world champion join beloved Barça after two confusing years at Paris Saint-Germain? Or stay in Paris? Or maybe he will go after Cristiano Ronaldo for Arab money?
While the media is trumpeting that the Argentinean has agreed a contract with the Saudi club Al-Hilal, Barcelona president Joan Laporta cannot get enough of gold medals … And on behalf of the club's management promises to do everything in their power to bring Messi back to Barcelona.