Barcelona may have suffered a shock exit at the hands of Roma in the Champions League but the Catalans have been unstoppable in La Liga. And they duly wrapped up the Spanish league crown Sunday thanks to who , no other person but Lionel Messi.
Messi’s hat-trick at Deportivo La Coruna gave Barcelona a 4-2 victory and an unassailable 11-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid.
In its first season under manager Ernesto Valverde, Barcelona has reclaimed the league title from nemesis Real Madrid and sealed a third championship in the last four campaigns.
The lone domestic blemish was losing to city-rival Espanyol 1-0 in the Kings Cup in January, although Barcelona turned around that first-leg deficit and thrashed Sevilla 5-0 in the final on April 21.
Barcelona is now just four games away from becoming the first side to go unbeaten through an entire season in Spain’s top division.
Next Sunday it faces a huge test against Real but Messi said he and his teammates should take the time to “celebrate” the achievement.
“We feel so much joy after winning this league,” the Argentine told Barcelona’s TV channel. “We know how complicated it is to win the league, which is why we have to cherish this and celebrate it as we should with all our fans.
“We were superior to all our rivals and we haven’t lost a single game. We only lost once in the Cup and in Roma where we had a very unexpected result,” Messi added, referring to the 3-0 Champions League second-leg defeat that saw Barcelona exit the quarterfinals on the away goals rule.
