Barcelona on the 14th May, 2025, came within minutes of clinching the 2024-25 La Liga title without even taking the field. All they needed was for Mallorca to get a draw against Real Madrid on Wednesday. Mallorca looked set to do just that, until it collapsed in stoppage time, conceding a game-winner in the 95th minute and keeping Madrid’s slim hopes of winning their 37th La Liga title alive.
But the celebration in Barcelona wasn’t delayed very long. On Thursday, Barcelona sealed the title on their own terms with a 2-0 win over Espanyol at RCDE Stadium. It’s the 28th league championship for the Catalan club, second only to Real Madrid’s 36, and summed a triumphant first season under manager, Hansi Flick.
Lamine Yamal opened the scoring after 53 minutes of a tense derby clash with a brilliant curling effort, before Lopez added another in the 95th minute to secure victory.
Outside the stadium before the match, several Espanyol fans were hit by a car which drove into a big crowd, although none were seriously injured, and police said it appeared to be an accident.
Flick’s side started slowly in Cornella, with Espanyol, 16th, looking dangerous on the counter-attack and keen to secure their top-flight survival.
Wojciech Szczesny made a fine stop to deny Javi Puado who broke through on goal in Espanyol’s best chance of the opening period.
Barca dominated the game but failed to create any clear cut chances for themselves in the first half.
The Catalan giants have often blown teams away this season, approaching a century of goals in La Liga, but with the title on the line and a hostile crowd against them, they needed something special to break through.
That came from 17-year-old wing wizard Yamal, who dropped a shoulder to go inside the right flank and unleashed a rocket into the top corner from outside the box, in a replica of his goal for Spain against France in the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
It was the teenager’s eighth La Liga strike of the season but with goals in both matches against rivals Real and also in the visit to face Atletico Madrid, he has a liking for the big occasion.
Barca’s superb display in Sunday’s Clasico, in which they beat their rivals 4-3 in a thrilling battle, effectively won them the title, extending the gap to seven points.
Only the Champions League escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2023.