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Barcelona clinched the Spanish title on Thursday for the 28th time in the club’s history, but only the second occasion in the last six years.

Hansi Flick’s hugely entertaining side beat Espanyol 2-0 to take the crown with two matches to spare.

AFP Sport breaks down the ways the German coach helped the Catalan giants reclaim the Spanish throne from arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Awesome Attack

Flick’s thrilling attacking outfit this season have shredded nearly every side to cross their path.

Barcelona scored 97 goals in 36 games to power to the title, 23 more than second-placed Real Madrid.

A 7-0 thrashing of Valladolid in August set out their intentions, and they hit four goals or more in 13 league matches.

The brilliant Lamine Yamal, still only 17, excelled, feeding veteran striker Robert Lewandowski and dynamic winger Raphinha.

The Brazilian, who Flick convinced to stay at the club, had his best ever season and credits his coach with changing his career.

Yamal provided the most assists in Spain with 13, while Lewandowski notched 25 goals and Raphinha got 18 while setting up nine himself.

Flick’s high defensive line has been a key feature of the team’s approach, which sometimes costs them at the back, but largely keeps opponents under pressure, including Madrid in last weekend’s Clasico.

“For 24 minutes Real Madrid didn’t touch the ball in our half… how we press them when they have the ball, it’s unbelievable… we can be very proud of that,” said Flick.

Mentality shift

Flick’s predecessor Xavi Hernandez made every excuse under the sun — and even including the sun — last season as Barcelona failed to win a single trophy.

This year the Catalans claimed a domestic treble and Flick has largely insisted on avoiding blaming external factors when his team has struggled.

That helped Barcelona players realise that what they achieve, or not, is up to them and has given them the strength to turn around adverse situations.

Barca have pulled off several impressive comebacks this season, including from two goals down against Real Madrid to triumph 4-3 in the most recent Clasico on May 11.

“The team’s mentality is incredible,” said Flick after securing a fourth Clasico victory from four meetings this season.

Furthermore, the team no longer looks weighed down by expectations or pressure and instead are focused on enjoying themselves on the pitch — contributing to their attractive, flair-filled football.

READ ALSO: Yamal, Lopez Strike To Seal Barcelona La Liga Title Triumph At Espanyol

Perfect Pedri

Pedri Gonzalez has a strong case for being the world’s best midfielder right now, and after injury-ravaged years, his staying fit for the whole season has been vital for Barca.

“For me, Pedri is absolutely incredible — I’m on my knees for him,” said former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger.

The Canary Islander, 22, has been the heartbeat of Flick’s Barca, both in an attacking sense but also defensively, given the team operates without a holding midfielder following injuries to Marc Bernal and Marc Casado.

Pedri’s lithe form and quick-thinking allows him to get out of trouble quickly and helps Barca spring forward on the counter.

Levels raised

Flick boosted Barcelona’s fitness levels and confidence across the board and his faith in players who struggled last season has been paid back in spades.

The German insisted on keeping Eric Garcia and the centre-back has impressed when given opportunities, even playing out of position.

Ferran Torres has helped the stellar forward trio rest and is the team’s third top goalscorer and third top assist provider in La Liga.

Most importantly, Inigo Martinez struggled last season but has been a cornerstone of the defence alongside teenager Pau Cubarsi, becoming a true leader.

Winter blues bounce-back

Despite an excellent start to the season, in November and December last year, Barcelona slumped.

The Catalans won just once in a seven-match spell in that period, losing against minnows Leganes and Las Palmas at home.

Their lead crumbled, with Atletico usurping them after beating Barca just before Christmas.

Flick took action, deploying the fit-again Frenkie de Jong in midfield over Casado and installing Wojciech Szczesny in goal in place of Inaki Pena.

Barcelona came back strongly and went on a run of 24 matches unbeaten over all competitions to get back in the driving seat for the title.

Marcus Rashford will miss the rest of Aston Villa’s season after being ruled out of Friday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur.

Rashford’s hamstring injury will keep the loan signing out of Villa’s last home game and, with their final match coming against parent club Manchester United on May 25, it means the England forward’s campaign is over.

The 27-year-old has been sidelined since last month and missed Villa’s 3-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat by Crystal Palace.

His future remains in doubt, with Birmingham club Villa having a £40 million ($53 million) option to turn his loan move into a permanent deal.

There are reports Rashford wants to play Champions League football next season, with Villa yet to secure a place in European club football’s premier event.

Youri Tielemans has also been ruled out of Friday’s match at home to Europa League finalists Tottenham.

“Youri and Marcus are not available and Jacob Ramsey is suspended,” Villa manager Unai Emery said Thursday.

“We have to do each step forward, testing and analysing how they are recovering.

“I don’t know if they will be available physically (next week), because Marcus can’t play next week.

“But they are working every day and they are feeling better.”

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The Tottenham game was moved to Friday night following Spurs’ request for more time to prepare for Wednesday’s Europa League final in Bilbao against another Premier League team in Manchester United.

Villa were not happy with that decision and concerns have been raised that Spurs’ priority on Friday will be to avoid injury.

But Emery expects the north London club, a lowly 17th in the Premier League table, to be competitive at Villa Park.

“They are trying to manage to play Premier League and Europa League, how they are performing in the Europa League is really fantastic,” the Spaniard added.

“They are in the final… they are going to play with their better players, they are going to try and compete in getting the best performances to get ready for the final.”

Sixth-placed Villa are chasing Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle as they bid to secure Champions League qualification for a second successive season, with the top five from the Premier League entering next term’s event.

“I wish to play, I don’t want holiday because we are in a very good moment after a long season,” Emery said.

“Now we are very, very motivated, very excited to play in Villa Park tomorrow (Friday) for our objectives we have in front of us to play again in Europe.

“It is not in our hands, but we can have some chance to play Champions League again. We are focusing on Tottenham.”

A stunning Lamine Yamal strike helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win at local rivals Espanyol on Thursday, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table.

Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble.

Only the Champions League escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2023.

Back then, celebrating Barca players were chased from the field by angry home supporters but this time Espanyol turned on the sprinklers to soak the jubilant visitors, who headed down the tunnel quickly.

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Yamal opened the scoring after 53 minutes of a tense derby clash with a brilliant curling effort, before Lopez added another in the 95th minute to secure victory.

“You don’t win a league every day and you have to enjoy it and value it as it should be valued,” midfield star Pedri told Movistar.

“I think (Espanyol) here, knowing that we were playing for the title, are a team that when they sit deep and try to hit you on the counter, can do that well.

“I’m happy because in the end we got the victory and won the league, and that’s what matters.”

Outside the stadium before the match several Espanyol fans were hit by a car which drove into a big crowd, although none were seriously injured and police said it appeared to be an accident.

Barcelona were seconds away from sealing their title triumph on Wednesday but Real Madrid snatched a 95th-minute winner against Mallorca to delay the inevitable.

Flick’s side started slowly in Cornella, with Espanyol, 16th, looking dangerous on the counter-attack and keen to secure their top-flight survival.

Wojciech Szczesny made a fine save to deny Javi Puado who broke through on goal in Espanyol’s best chance of the opening period.

Barca dominated the ball but failed to create any clear opportunities themselves in the first half.

 Yamal breaks through

The Catalan giants have often blown teams away this season, approaching a century of goals in La Liga, but with the title on the line and a hostile crowd against them, they needed something special to break through.

That came from 17-year-old wing wizard Yamal, who zipped inside off the right flank and unleashed a rocket into the top corner from outside the box, in a replica of his goal for Spain against France in the Euro 2024 semi-finals.

It was the teenager’s eighth La Liga strike of the season but with goals in both matches against rivals Real and also in the visit to face Atletico Madrid, he has a penchant for the big occasion.

Barca’s superb display in Sunday’s Clasico, in which they beat their rivals 4-3 in a thrilling battle, effectively won them the title.

They still had to get it over the line against their neighbours, though, and that became easier when Leandro Cabrera was sent off for an elbow into Yamal’s stomach.

Even though they had a player fewer, Espanyol pressured Barcelona heavily until Lopez drilled past Joan Garcia to end the hosts’ resistance.

Espanyol fans pelted Barcelona players with bottles as they celebrated the goal, but as the league’s youngest squad wrapped up a title that most believed was unlikely at best after Kylian Mbappe’s arrival at last year’s champions Real, they did not care.