A year after Atletico Madrid went to Barcelona and won the league title, Barcelona went to Atletico Madrid and won it back. As the final whistle went, Barca’s players gathered in a circle and danced while Gerard Pique sprayed the Catalan cava.
A superb Lionel Messi goal secured a 1-0 victory and took Barcelona to their fifth title in seven seasons. The goal arrived in the second half just six minutes after news of a Cristiano Ronaldo strike 600km away alerted Barcelona to the fact that a draw would not be enough. The Argentinian had scored yet another vital goal, but as usual it was not just about the goal; instead it was about another breathtaking performance. You can kick Messi but you cannot stop him.
For Luis Enrique, this was a first title as Barcelona manager; the hope now is that it will not be the last, that Barcelona may become the first European club ever to complete two trebles. They have three games left; one league game against Deportivo La Coruna, which no longer matters, and then two finals: the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao and the Champions League against Juventus. They had earned their first title.
An Atletico victory would have aided their city rivals Real but Diego Simeone insisted beforehand that his team would challenge “for every ball as if it was the last,” fighting for “every millimetre on the pitch”, and so it proved. Atletico were playing for third place and direct Champions League qualification, and the opening minutes showed their intent. Claudio Bravo made two superb saves - first from Jose Gimenez’s header, then from Antoine Griezmann’s close-range shot.
Soon, though, Barcelona took control; everything that happened now happened at the north end where around 200 visiting fans sat high in the stand. Between the 10th minute and the 20th, Messi had four attempts.
With Luis Suarez left out because of a calf strain, Pedro then tried to score with an overhead kick but missed the ball entirely and Dani Alves drew a save from Oblak from 30 yards.
Barcelona had not yet found a way through but back in Catalonia nor had Real Madrid against Espanyol. It was 0-0 there and 0-0 here; stay this way and Barcelona would be champions. It didn’t. On 59 minutes, Ronaldo put Madrid into the lead at Espanyol. Madrid had scored; Barcelona had to do so too. Six minutes later, they did. Messi played the ball into Pedro and dashed into the box. Pedro returned it, Messi took another touch and shot low into the far corner. Espanyol had equalised against Madrid through Christian Stuani but goals from Marcelo and then Ronaldo, twice more, put Madrid back in the lead. Yet it didn’t matter. Messi’s goal had been decisive. The league title is Barcelona’s. – Guardian service
