How to win two leagues in one day
1. Hansi Flick's Barça will win their first La Liga title. And they will do so richly and in very difficult circumstances, having to play their home games at Montjuïc, which is no small handicap. But on Sunday, with a greater atmosphere than ever, Barça wrapped up the championship with another great victory against Real Madrid. And that was despite the fact that the team had everything against them: an inspired Mbappé, a refereeing mafia that knew what they were doing, a 2-0 deficit in the quarter-hour mark, and the statistics. Never in the history of football had either Barça or Madrid managed to win four consecutive games in a single season. This record was also shattered thanks to another historic comeback. This Sunday's match is, without a doubt, the one that will remain from the two years of exile at the Estadi Lluís Companys. It was another monument to football. And, in recent matches, Barça has already won over the entire world in several, not just the Barça faithful, who are once again very excited. The Copa del Rey final—also featuring a comeback—both matches against Inter, and the 90 minutes on Sunday, which ended 4-3 but could have ended 8-7 and wouldn't have been out of place.
2. After a spectacular match, with around thirty magnificent plays that are an ode to football, it's absurd to focus again on the errors. Enough of blaming Araujo for two plays in Inter's half, of criticizing Cubarsí for Madrid's first goal, or Iñigo for Mbappé's last. In such a competitive game, with such speed, it's logical that details determine matches. Barça also scored the second goal when Ceballos and Mbappé collided, and Pedri took advantage. A few minutes later, Raphinha completed the comeback by stealing a ball that was, forever, Lucas Vázquez's. Raphinha, apart from his two goals, also had two others that seemed easier. And, in stoppage time, when people were starting to check the cardiologist's phone to make an appointment, Víctor Múñoz shot wide, the easiest goal he'll have in his entire career, which still gave Madrid a chance to win the league title.
3. Referees also make mistakes. Especially in favor of Real Madrid. And on Sunday, between Hernández Hernández on the pitch and, above all, Martínez Munuera in charge of the VAR, they managed to bring excitement to the match and demonstrated that Spain doesn't have refereeing at the level of the spectacle's quality. The influence of Real Madrid Television, with its preemptive threats, ends up conditioning their officiating. We saw it in the Copa del Rey final, and on Sunday, with a different executing duo, we suffered it in La Liga. They didn't see the offence leading up to the 1-0, nor Tchouaméni's sending-off when he was the last player, nor did they want to award a penalty for the Frenchman's own handball, which prevented Ferran Torres from scoring the goal that would have helped him secure the three-goal assist. And it goes without saying that they did see Fermín's rebounding handballs in the play leading up to the final ecstasy. And Florentino Pérez? He didn't come to Barcelona because he saw it coming. Next to Laporta sat Pirri, a veteran who was crumbling in his chair with every Barça goal. Signing Mbappé, the world's most differential player, also won't allow them to win a second consecutive La Liga title, Madrid's unfinished business of this century.
4. On this Sunday, which will go down in the club's history, Pere Romeu's Barça mathematically won the league title this morning at Betis. The perfect Barça women's team only needed to win the penultimate match and a 9-0 victory to remove any doubt. This is the sixth consecutive league title for a team that has established itself as a footballing powerhouse and whose appetite for excellence has not yet run out. Now they want to repeat last season's achievements and also win the Champions League final and the Copa del Rey final. This year's Barça joys are not over yet.