Barcelona claimed their 24th La Liga title on Sunday with a 3-0 win at Granada thank to a Luis Suarez hat-trick.
Here, AFP sports looks at five key games on the Catalans’ run to retaining their title.
Atletico Madrid 1 Barcelona 2, September 12, 2015
Barca faced a huge test just three games into the defence of their title with a visit to Champions League finalists Atletico.
Lionel Messi started only on the bench the day after the birth of his second son, but the World Player of the Year came on to score the winner after a stunning Neymar free-kick had cancelled out Fernando Torres’s opener.
Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 4, November 21, 2015
Messi watched on from the bench once more for the first hour on his return from knee ligament damage, but Barca still landed an early blow in the title race from which Madrid and, in particular, beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez never recovered.
Suarez and Neymar starred with the Uruguayan opening and rounding off the scoring, whilst the Brazilian slotted home the second just before half-time and teed up Andres Iniesta’s stunning strike for the third with a cheeky backheel.
Barcelona 6 Celta Vigo 1, February 14, 2016
Barca blew open a tight game with a magnificent 20-minute spell to score four goals of stunning quality to see of a valiant Celta Vigo.
The easiest finish was the most talked about as Suarez slotted home Messi’s pass from the penalty spot in homage to the late Johan Cruyff’s famous effort for Ajax 34 years previously.
That was part of a second-half hat-trick for Suarez, whilst Neymar and Ivan Rakitic chipped home classy finishes late on to add to Messi’s inch-perfect first-half free-kick.
Deportivo la Coruna 0 Barcelona 8, April 20, 2016
Having suffered three consecutive league defeats for the first time in 13 years, Barca bounced back in stunning fashion with a demolition of Deportivo inspired by four goals and three assists from Suarez.
Messi, Neymar, Rakitic and Marc Bartra also netted as the confidence flowed back to start a run of five wins to end the season by a combined score of 24-0.
Granada 0 Barcelona 3 May 14, 2016
Suarez was the hero once more as he struck a hat-trick to take his tally for the season to 59 and become the first player other than Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Pichichi trophy as La Liga’s top scorer in seven years.
Here, AFP sports looks at five key games on the Catalans’ run to retaining their title.
Atletico Madrid 1 Barcelona 2, September 12, 2015
Barca faced a huge test just three games into the defence of their title with a visit to Champions League finalists Atletico.
Lionel Messi started only on the bench the day after the birth of his second son, but the World Player of the Year came on to score the winner after a stunning Neymar free-kick had cancelled out Fernando Torres’s opener.
Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 4, November 21, 2015
Messi watched on from the bench once more for the first hour on his return from knee ligament damage, but Barca still landed an early blow in the title race from which Madrid and, in particular, beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez never recovered.
Suarez and Neymar starred with the Uruguayan opening and rounding off the scoring, whilst the Brazilian slotted home the second just before half-time and teed up Andres Iniesta’s stunning strike for the third with a cheeky backheel.
Barcelona 6 Celta Vigo 1, February 14, 2016
Barca blew open a tight game with a magnificent 20-minute spell to score four goals of stunning quality to see of a valiant Celta Vigo.
The easiest finish was the most talked about as Suarez slotted home Messi’s pass from the penalty spot in homage to the late Johan Cruyff’s famous effort for Ajax 34 years previously.
That was part of a second-half hat-trick for Suarez, whilst Neymar and Ivan Rakitic chipped home classy finishes late on to add to Messi’s inch-perfect first-half free-kick.
Deportivo la Coruna 0 Barcelona 8, April 20, 2016
Having suffered three consecutive league defeats for the first time in 13 years, Barca bounced back in stunning fashion with a demolition of Deportivo inspired by four goals and three assists from Suarez.
Messi, Neymar, Rakitic and Marc Bartra also netted as the confidence flowed back to start a run of five wins to end the season by a combined score of 24-0.
Granada 0 Barcelona 3 May 14, 2016
Suarez was the hero once more as he struck a hat-trick to take his tally for the season to 59 and become the first player other than Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Pichichi trophy as La Liga’s top scorer in seven years.
0 comments: