Espanyol put in great effort to stifle and disturb Barcelona ’ festivities following Hansi Flick’s team defeating their arch-rivals to clinch their 28th La Liga championship.
Barcelona went into tonight’s match aware that a win would put them too far ahead for their opponents to catch up. Real Madrid At the summit of the leaderboard — and Lamine Yamal once more stole the spotlight, leading his team to a convincing 2-0 victory.
The young wing player, who is 17 years old, extended his impressive streak with a delightful curved shot past Joan Garcia in the 53rd minute, setting the initial score. Later, Fermin Lopez added another goal to solidify their lead towards the end of the match.
Espanyol, playing as hosts, were left with one player short towards the end of the match after Leandro Cabrera received a direct red card for hitting Yamal in the stomach with an elbow swing.
But there were jubilant scenes just ten minutes later as referee Cesar Soto Grado blew his whistle to signal full-time, crowning Barcelona as the new champions of Spanish football.
As soon as Barca’s players and coaching staff gathered around the center circle and started celebrating their achievement, however, numerous sprinklers within Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium began spraying water in all directions.
Fortunately, Flick’s gleeful squad appeared to see the funny side and began dancing and singing while getting well and truly drenched, determined not to let it ruin their party.
Shortly afterwards, Flick was spotted guiding his wet championship-winning players away from the field and back through the tunnel, allowing them to keep partying in the locker room.
"Now I can finally relax. During games, I'm usually very stressed... but now I'll be at ease," a smiling Flick commented about Barcelona's championship win.
'I feel like I can't find the time to share what makes me proudest. In short, I highlight the family atmosphere we've built here and the intense dedication and positive attitude we all bring to every task, which has helped us reach our objectives.'
‘It’s fantastic to see the family we’ve created, where everyone cares about each other. I think we’ve created something truly unique.’
The derby was somewhat overshadowed by horrendous scenes before kick-off , with videos shared on social media showing a car plough into a crowd of fans outside the ground.
Early reports from Spain suggest that nobody was seriously injured as a result of the crash. The Catalan police are currently operating under the assumption that the driver likely lost control of their car.
On Sunday, Barcelona can savor the championship victory alongside their supporters as they welcome Villarreal for their second-to-last game of the Spanish league season.
Flick’s team concludes their campaign with an away match against Athletic Bilbao, who clinched their spot in next year’s Champions League after defeating Getafe 2-0 tonight.
'It isn’t done just yet. We’ve got two more matches remaining, and our aim is to conclude this season with championship-worthy performances,' Flick stated additionally.
'Sunday, we will play against Villarreal once more and then take on Athletic.'
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