Barcelona were confirmed as La Liga champions on Thursday as a 2-0 victory over Espanyol gave them an unassailable lead over Real Madrid with two matches to go. It ends a magnificent campaign for the Catalans, who completed a domestic treble despite being written off by so many last summer.
Joan Laporta hits out at critics
Understandably, there were a lot of celebrations in the dressing room post-match. And the man leading them? Joan Laporta. As per Diario AS, the Barcelona president had to be pulled away from the scenes to give his thoughts on the success to Barça One.
“I have had the privilege of celebrating with the players. There was maximum euphoria, players who know each other, a team that has music, they are always dancing in there, they live it a lot, they live without complexes. They have made Barça fall in love with them and that is not easy. A symbiosis that we are all excited about. We have recovered joy and pride. A coach who has led them wonderfully, one of the keys to success. A historic season.
“We have won a league against everything and everyone. They have tried to destabilize us like never before, they have put thousands of obstacles in our way. It is a league of the culés who have supported us and have trusted us to maintain institutional stability. We have won three titles from excellence.”
Lamine Yamal recognises importance of La Liga title win
Lamine Yamal was the difference maker for Barcelona at the RCDE Stadium, scoring one and assisting the other goal. He also spoke to the media on becoming a La Liga champion, as per MD.
“We are very happy. There’s always some doubt until the end, you know? This is something very important for the club and we have achieved it.”
Raphinha: This is only the beginning for Barcelona
Raphinha had a quiet evening against Espanyol, which he recognised when speaking to the media himself (via MD). He also made it clear that the success achieved by Barcelona this season is only the start.
“Individually it was one of my worst games this season. It’s my second league and I hope to win many more. I think that we have to be focused on what is ours. If we do our work and do not look at others, the possibilities increase. We didn’t have to look at Real Madrid. We knew we had a very weak first half, but we were better in the second half.
“I’m not going to stop here. With this shirt in Spain I have won everything possible and now we have to go for the Champions League, which is the dream of our club, not only of the players and staff. We are close this season but next season we are going with everything.”
Fermin Lopez addresses celebration situation
Fermin Lopez scored the goal that clinched the La Liga title for Barcelona, and he was another that addressed the media after the match. As per MD, he addressed the situation of celebrating on the pitch at the RCDE Stadium, which was muted compared to two years ago.
“We have achieved the objective, we have worked hard to get here and I think we deserved it. Today it makes up for the goal that was disallowed in the match against Real Madrid. In the end I understand what happened last time, but I think we don’t hurt anyone. We don’t disrespect, we won our league and we celebrated very little.”
