FC Barcelona Crowned La Liga Champions At Espanyol

FC Barcelona have won their maiden La Liga title under Xavi Hernandez, and a first for the club in four years, after beating cross-town rivals Espanyol away on Sunday evening in Spain.

The Catalans achieved this feat with four matchdays to spare, seeing off their opposition 4-2 at the RCDE Stadium with a first half brace from Lewandowski and a goal each by defenders Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde.

Real Madrid, who are second in the table, beat Getafe 1-0 on Saturday and Atletico Madrid, in third, surprisingly lost 1-0 to Elche earlier on Sunday before Barcelona sealed the title with victory over Espanyol.

At full time, Barca's players had to flee to safety down the tunnel as angry Espanyol fans invaded the pitch and tried to get attack them.

Back stage, however, after the dust had settled, a clearly happy president Joan Laporta beamed regarding a "Sunday of joy for all Barca fans to celebrate".

"I hope it's the first of many titles. We have saved the club financially and we have brought joy back to Barcelona. And now we begin to win important titles that we hope will be the beginning of a splendid era," Laporta added.