Barcelona almost reclaimed the La Liga title after beating Real Madrid in El Clasico. They needed just two points. Lamine Yamal secured the Catalans the championship with a full three points with two games left in the season. The 17-year-old Spanish star scored a goal himself and set up another for his teammate as Barcelona beat Espanyol 2-0 to win their 28th La Liga title.
Yamal was unable to take advantage of the first half at the opponent’s RCDE Stadium yesterday (Thursday) night. In the second half, he returned the Catalans to their usual rhythm. In addition, Fermin Lopez secured Barca’s victory with a goal. Real won their 36th La Liga title last season. This time, Hansi Flick’s disciples restored the title by keeping them in two.
Flick made a few changes to the starting eleven from the 4-3 win against Real in El Clasico. Although they controlled the ball from the start, the host Espanyol got the first chance. However, in the fourth minute, their low shot by Urco Gonzalez was off target. The referee suddenly stopped the game in the seventh minute. The ball was back on the field after a warning was given over the loudspeaker regarding the car driving into the spectators outside the stadium before the match.
The Catalans got their first chance of the match in the 13th minute. However, Robert Lewandowski could not put a powerful shot on target from the edge of the box. Three minutes later, Espanyol’s powerful shot was blocked by Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szynski. Thus, both teams attacked and counter-attacked until the break, but no one found the goal. The first goal to break the deadlock of the match came in the eighth (53rd) minute of the second half. Yamal, after passing a few people and passing the ball with Dani Almo, scored the goal at the far post.
Also Check: Today’s Match Prediction
The hosts Espanyol suffered another setback in the 80th minute. Defender Leandro Cabrera hit Yamal hard in the stomach while trying to take the ball away from him. The referee showed him a red card after watching the VAR monitor. As a result, Espanyol played the rest of the game with one man less. The regular time ended 1-0. However, Barcelona doubled their lead in the sixth minute of added time. Lopez, who replaced Lewandowski, scored the team’s second goal after catching Yamal’s extended ball.
With this, Yamal has scored 17 goals and 25 assists in 53 matches in all competitions for Barca. He won his fifth title for the Spanish national team and club in 17 years. With this, Hansi Flick won the treble of titles in Spain’s domestic competition in his first season. His team has also beaten arch-rivals Real in the previous two titles (Super Cup and Copa del Rey).
The Catalans, who are waiting to win the La Liga trophy, have 85 points from 36 matches. Real, who are in second place with a draw, have 78 points. Carlo Ancelotti’s team congratulated their arch-rivals on their title recovery on social media.
