Barcelona crowned La Liga Champions after 2–0 derby win over Espanyol: Lamine Yamal shines, Szczęsny saves
Barcelona win the 28th league title in an exciting derby featuring Lamine Yamal shining, Szczesny keeping a clean-sheet, plus a number of chaotic events that unfolded at RCDE Stadium prior to match.
Barcelona, playing with so much responsibility, as the title chance turned into reality on Sunday evening, against their local rivals Espanyol, along with a derby that melded sporting success with real-world trauma. Specifically, the match at the RCDE Stadium was preceded, understandably, by bumps including an unprecedented incident involving a car crashing injuring thirteen people just outside the stadium seconds before kickoff, and forcing a delay to the official start of the match.
Once the match commenced, it was 17-year-old Lamine Yamal who shone again for Barcelona with a curling strike that gave Barca the lead. The game was then capped with a last-gasp stoppage-time goal from Férmin López, confirming Barça's 28th-league title and incredibly, a new manager's first season, Hansi Flick, from Germany.
Wojciech Szczęsny's return and Lamine Yamal's rise defined the season
It could be argued that Barcelona's title campaign was defined by a combination of experience—certainly on one end of the spectrum, 35-year-old Wojciech Szczęsny was enjoying some retirement on an otherwise unremarkable beach in Marbella until Barça thought it fit to intercept moments later. On the other end was Lamine Yamal—still only 17 years old—who is setting the foundation for a career that many feel will be historic. Szczęsny made the key saves in the decisive derby, stopping two excellent chances for Espanyol in the first half, which held the score at 0-0 and gave Barça a moment to regroup after a slow start.
As the second half began, Yamal provided his trademark goal yet again: a left footed shot that curled from the right side, made it past the keeper to the far post where it settled perfectly into the corner of the net. The goal had been coming all game long, he had chosen the moment perfectly; in the end...try and stop that. Yamal celebrated with the small contingent of away fans by spreading his arms wide, fully aware he had just delivered Barça to the title.
An emotional derby both on and off the pitch
The match had more importance attached to it, even beyond three points in La Liga, because of a pre-game incident that occurred just outside the stadium. A woman lost control of her white car while driving, and drove into a crowd of people injuring 13 people. The Catalan police confirmed that the incident was not an accident and the driver, who was understandably filled with panic after the situation arose, was detained. The accident created a pause in the match when it was interrupted in the seventh minute and Espanyol made a stadium-wide announcement to confirm that there was control of the situation and that no serious injuries were reported for the 13 injured.
The match proceeded as the police and medical crews tended to the people. Espanyol had two early chances from Urko González and Javi Puado, but Szczęsny's saves and Barcelona's ability to control possession would prove pivotal. Unlike the disorganized scenes two seasons ago—when Barcelona, celebrating a league title, incited a pitch invasion from Espanyol fans after their loss our on-fname pitch— this time the visitors celebrated in an orderly fashion. With the league title and Copa del Rey cup secured, Barcelona's double win offers promise of a successful start to the Flick era and a generational talent who has just begun.
