BARCELONA clinched the La Liga title as wonderkid Lamine Yamal scored another stunning goal in their derby win at Espanyol.
The 17-year-old curled a fantastic shot into the top corner from the edge of the box to confirm his side as champions with two games to go and a seven-point advantage over Real Madrid.
Fermin Lopez added a second goal deep into injury time from Yamal’s pass.
The game, though, was paused for a short time in the first half as news broke of an incident outside. A car drove into fans, with 13 people injured and four taken to hospital, but none were said to be in a serious condition.
Play restarted soon after and Barca claimed the decisive opener in the 53rd minute. It was Yamal’s 17th goal of the season as cemented his place as one of the world’s most exciting players of any age.
Espanyol had defender Leandro Cabrera sent off with 10 minutes left for lashing out with his arm to strike Yamal as they challenged for the ball.
Having already won the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup, the title success confirmed a clean sweep of domestic trophies for Hansi Flick in his first season as Barca boss.
His side also beat Real Madrid in both cup finals, having won all four Clasico meetings this season.
Barcelona, who also reached the Champions League semi-finals where they lost to Inter Milan in a dramatic encounter, are deserved champions with 169 goals in all competitions.
They were seconds away from becoming champions the previous day until Real Madrid scored an injury-time winner against Mallorca.
The Catalans needed to win this game to be sure of the title – but had to ride their luck a bit with Urko Gonzalez and Javi Puado missing chances for hosts Espanyol.
But Yamal was the hero, not for the first time, with a trademark finish from Dani Olmo’s pass. He then provided the assist for Lopez’s deflected finish just before the end.
In a quirk, Barca have been confirmed as champions at Espanyol’s ground more times than at home in the 21st century.
They also won it at Espanyol themselves in 2023, while a Real Madrid draw at the RCDE Stadium in 2013 ended the title race. They have only won two league titles at the Nou Camp since the 1990s.
There was a slight melee between the players at the final whistle as Barca started to celebrate, with ground staff turning the sprinklers on to get the visiting players off the pitch.
When they won at the same ground two years ago, the Barca players had to race to the dressing room as Espanyol fans ran on to the pitch at the end.
Yamal now has 24 goals in 104 games for Barcelona – plus four in 19 for Spain. The Euro 2024, La Liga and Copa del Rey winner does not turn 18 until the summer.
Among those 28 strikes are three in El Clasico, one in a Euro 2024 semi-final and another in a Champions League semi-final.