A tidal wave of emotions crashes over the hearts of Cules as their spirits soar to the heavens, while the echoes of celebration ripple through the air. Barcelona are officially crowned La Liga champions, following a thumping victory over city rivals, Espanyol.
From the instant that play kicked off, Barcelona ominated possession and orchestrated most of the offensive play that took place. The passes looked fluid, as each was followed by a complementary movement to guide the ball in spaces that carry the greatest of advantages. Barça also showed excellent poise in front of the goal which has certainly helped their case.
Even so, The Catalans’ dominance was facilitated by how poor Espanyol have been. The hosts struggled to play outlets from the first phase of their possessional play as they tend to attempt plenty of audacious passes between the lines, which Barcelona have intercepted with great ease. Moreover, they lacked the defensive cohesion to challenge Barça’s offense and gave up far too many spaces on the flanks.
Espanyol’s decision to defend in a back 4 and attempt to challenge Barça’s superiority in possession may be a decision made solely out of pride and one which ended up hurting their chances of putting an inspiring effort to prevent the Blaugrana from engulfing in celebration.
In the first half, Balde proved to be a menace on the left flank, with far too many spaces as well as the opposing full-back showing him the run outside, ready to be penetrated. On the other hand, Lewandowski made some excellent runs which led to timely crosses and finishes to bag a brace.
After an assertive first-half exhibition, the Blaugranas continued to berate Espanyol after proceedings, with the three-goal cushion extending to four goals. Frenkie de Jong’s excellent lobbed pass into Kounde saw the Frenchman score a peach of a goal and confirm the prospect of victory on an incredible occasion.
However, the control that Barça appeared to establish dwindled into excessive verticality and chaos. Espanyol were playing in runners in behind on a continuous basis, which came as a consequence of Barça playing very direct and lacking patience in their plays.
Ter Stegen had to come up with a few heroic saves, but could not prevent the chipped goal that spoiled the cleansheet. Joselu’s last-minute goal came too little too late, with preparations for the victory lap already in place
Still, embracing the finish line with joyous faces, Barça emerged from the depths of adversity and finally tasted the divine nectar of victory. The road traveled was one riddled with several setbacks, with every step laden with patience and heartbreak, but through the darkest nights, they never lost sight of their ultimate goal.
