Espanyol vs Barcelona, Barça dominate Catalan Derby, won the league title
After beating city rivals Espanyol 4-2.
The celebrations were cut short, however, when Espanyol fans ran onto the pitch after the match as Barcelona players were soaking up their win. The players were forced to sprint into the tunnel.
Robert Lewandowski scored a brace either side of Alejandro Balde’s 20th-minute strike before Jules Kounde added their fourth just after half-time.
Javier Puado pulled one back for Espanyol and Joselu added another in stoppage time, but victory means Barcelona sit 14 points clear of Real Madrid at the summit with just four games left to play.
Barcelona is one of the most successful football clubs in the world, and their latest triumph is winning the Ligue title.
The 2022-23 season was a memorable one for Barcelona, as they clinched the title with some impressive performances on the pitch.
The season started with some uncertainty for Barcelona, as they had gone through a major overhaul in the summer transfer window.
They had lost some key players like Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, and Sergio Aguero, and had to bring in new talent to fill the void.
However, the new signings, including Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong, proved to be crucial for the team's success.
From the first half Barça were quite simply sublime in the opening period, quickly establishing their dominance through fantastic possession work and running circles around a helpless Espanyol side.
They were quick, precise and creative with their passing, their defense dominated, and their chance creation and finishing were at the highest of levels.
They scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, with Robert Lewandowski using his striker instincts to fire home a cross from Alejandro Balde with his knee for the opening goal, and Balde adding a goal to his personal tally after a brilliant move and assist from Pedri.
Barça continued to dominate the ball and Espanyol quickly got desperate, resorting to physical play and hard fouls to try and slow down the pace, but Barca remained poised and continue to attack until they found another goal.
And it came just before halftime, with Sergio Busquets winning the ball in midfield, Frenkie De Jong releasing Raphinha, and the Brazilian assisting Lewandowski’s second of the night to end a dream period for the visitors.
As they entered the second half Espanyol made two attacking substitutions at halftime and started the period with their lines much higher up the pitch trying to force Barça into mistakes and score a goal to give them some hope of a comeback, but the visitors quickly ensured that the victory would be theirs.
After a beautiful passing sequence against the press and a shot by Balde that was blocked by the Espanyol defense
the rebound fell to Frenkie De Jong who played a spectacular pass over the top to find the run of Jules Kounde, who arrived at the far post and headed home the fourth to seal the win — and the title.
At halftime, Barça were up three goals and playing some of their best football of the season, and they just needed to keep up the good work to protect the lead and start the party in the second half.
Barcelona got off to a good start, winning their opening game of the season against Real Sociedad. They continued their winning ways
picking up victories against Getafe, Granada, and Cadiz in the following weeks. However, their biggest test of the season came in the form of their arch-rivals Real Madrid.
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