KEY MOMENTS IN TITLE CHASE
Barcelona are league champions again in Spain. For the 26th time to be precise. Ernesto Valverde’s men have controlled much of La Liga championship fight, ultimately sealing it on Saturday against Levante with two games to spare. But league titles are not won simply in May. They are achieved throughout a season that started in August, and here is a look at some of the key moments.
September 2: Putting eight past Huesca
Barca’s biggest win of the season actually began with them going behind. They promptly hit eight goals with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both scoring twice. The 8-2 success helped Barca start the season with four wins out of four and ensured they would always be in the thick of things at the top.
October 28: Real Madrid demolition job
An absolute dominant display over their arch-rivals, which was so one-sided that it ended the brief tenure of Julen Lopetegui as Madrid manager. Suarez took centre stage with a hat-trick in the 5-1 rout, with Philippe Coutinho and Arturo Vidal also on target.
November 24: Dembele to the rescue
Barcelona were not at their best in November and they looked set for a costly defeat at Atletico Madrid. But Ousmane Dembele came off the bench to equalise in stoppage time and earn his side a vital point.
February 23: Fighting back against Sevilla
Barca were a resolute side this season under manager Ernesto Valverde and they showed it on a number of occasions. They came from behind twice at Sevilla, with Messi again the hero with a hat-trick, two of which came in the final 23 minutes, as they ran out 4-2 winners.
March 2: Tense victory against old rivals Real
Any win at the Bernabeu, the home of Real Madrid, is a special one for Barcelona and another came here in the league in March. This was a much more tense encounter then the October battering, but Ivan Rakitic was the hero with a first-half strike that proved to be the only goal of the game.
April 2: Very late show earns draw at Villarreal
Every point counts and this was a remarkable fightback from Valverde’s side. Having been two up in the first 16 minutes, they were 4-2 down going into the 90th minute. But Messi and Suarez struck in stoppage time to salvage an unlikely share of the spoils.
April 6: Playing waiting game to see off Atletico
The game at Camp Nou that made it effectively a case of when, not if, Barca retained the title. They had to be patient against 10-man Atletico, who had fiery striker Diego Costa sent-off, with Suarez and Messi scoring in the final five minutes.