Barcelona Clinch 2017/18 La Liga Title

The Catalan powerhouse have lifted their 25th league title over the weekend, after overcoming Deportivo La Coruna 4-2 away which also saw Lionel Messi record a hat-trick and score his 1000th goal for club and country.

Unbeaten run in the Spanish championship

After failing to defend their league title last season by relinquishing it to fierce rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona have won La Liga this year in true style. The Blaugrana’s 4-2 victory over La Coruna on the road on Sunday – which gave them the title – was their 26th win of the season, with the other 8 matches ending in draws.

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has not lost a single game in La Liga this season, and with 4 games remaining he could achieve something truly unprecedented that not even his most recent predecessors managed to do – accomplish an unbeaten run in the league. He managed to beat Pep Guardiola’s record of 31 unbeaten games in the 2010/11 season, according to online sportsbooks news.

Right before Barcelona secured their 25th La Liga crown, they defended their Copa Del Rey title – making it their fourth straight cup win – meaning that this is a double-winning campaign. This makes it Barcelona’s eighth domestic double, with the previous ones coming in 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1997–98, 2008–09, 2014–15 and 2015–16, FC Barcelona reports.

What’s perhaps even more impressive is the fact that this is Barcelona’s seventh league title in a decade; Real Madrid clinched La Liga last year and in 2011/12, while Atletico Madrid managed to break the hegemony for a while after sealing it in the 2013/14 season.

The objectives were clear from the start of the season

Valverde commented this campaign has been phenomenal for his side, but stressed that it wasn’t an easy one as it took lots of hard work from everyone involved at the club.

“I’m delighted because this has been a very long competition that we have been chasing since the moment we went to the top of the table,” said the Barcelona manager. “At last we’ve taken that final step towards becoming champions. We have been the best team. The way we have played has been extraordinary. We are pleased to have had such a good season. This was no one-day job. It’s taken lots of days and lots of matches. What we have to do now is celebrate it with our people.”

Online sportsbooks in Spain didn’t immediately favour Barcelona to win the title this season, especially since Real Madrid were all-conquering last campaign – they’ve won both La LIga and the Champions League – and they’ve also seen the departure of superstar Neymar. This is what many sceptics pointed to when projecting Barcelona’s chances for this season, but in the end they’ve managed to secure another league title without the Brazilian and they’ve done so in style – could be unbeaten if they don’t lose in the coming 4 encounters.

This is also Andres Iniesta’s last season with the Nou Camp side, as he’s about to join Chinese side Chongqing Dangdai Lifan. This will bring an end to his 16-year association with Blaugrana – where he has won everything multiple times – but at least he’ll go out on a high after lifting the Spanish championship title one last time.