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Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Raphinha Barcelona celebrate after winning the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid that makes them Spanish league champions in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Joan Monfort\/AP<\/p>\n
Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Joan Mateu Parra\/AP<\/p>\n
Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford celebrates the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Joan Monfort\/AP<\/p>\n
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal ahead of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Joan Monfort\/AP<\/p>\n
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick lifts his award to the sky celebrating after defeating Real Madrid 2-0 to win the Spanish La Liga soccer championship with three rounds to spare, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Joan Mateu Parra\/AP<\/p>\n
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) \u2014 Lamine Yamal donned the No. 10 jersey once worn by Lionel Messi and took another step forward in his path to global stardom by helping to lead Barcelona to a second straight Spanish league title.<\/p>\n
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The 18-year-old Yamal, who is missing the last games of the season with a muscle injury, is set to star for Spain at the upcoming World Cup and currently leads Barcelona in both goals and assists for the first time.<\/p>\n
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Hansi Flick\u2019s side clinched Barcelona’s 29th domestic title with three games left after a 2-0 win over rival Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday.<\/p>\n
While lacking the overpowering attacking verve of the 2024-2025 title run, Barcelona had more than enough firepower to capitalize on the repeated slips by Madrid, which will finish a second straight season without a major title since the arrival of Kylian Mbapp\u00e9.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a closer look at how Barcelona again won La Liga:<\/p>\n
Yamal takes the lead<\/p>\n
Since his debut at age 15, Yamal has delivered performance after brilliant performance to earn the privilege of being considered Barcelona\u2019s heir apparent to the one-and-only Messi.<\/p>\n
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Yamal leads Barcelona in scoring (jointly with Ferran Torres on 16 goals) and a competition-leading 11 assists in La Liga, despite missing some games with injury.<\/p>\n
He also leads the league in dribbles with 133.<\/p>\n
That increased output helped make up for the absence of Raphinha during two injury layoffs for the Brazil forward and the diminished role of veteran striker Robert Lewandowski, who at age 37 lost his first-choice status.<\/p>\n
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Beyond the numbers, his creativity with the ball and the fancy footwork, Yamal provided his contagious competitive attitude that never faded.<\/p>\n
Pedri and Ferm\u00edn dictate the pace<\/p>\n
Barcelona again had the top midfield and used it to crush the competition.<\/p>\n
It was leading the 20-team division both in scoring and defense with 91 goals scored and 31 conceded.<\/p>\n
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Pedri Gonz\u00e1lez is only 23 but is playing like a veteran, setting the pace and delivering the key pass forward in the style of former Barcelona and Spain star Xavi Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n
Ferm\u00edn L\u00f3pez was targeted by Chelsea in last summer\u2019s transfer window, but the 22-year-old stayed put and emerged as a key player for Flick. Ferm\u00edn scored 13 goals and made nine assists.<\/p>\n
Flick fills the gaps<\/p>\n
Flick figured out how to make up for the loss of his most physical defender after \u00cd\u00f1igo Mart\u00ednez left for the Saudi Arabian league in the offseason. Few would have imagined that Gerard Mart\u00edn, a young left back who had struggled at times in the previous campaign, would end up flourishing as a central defender alongside Pau Cubars\u00ed, who at age 19 delivered another superb season anchoring the backline.<\/p>\n
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Flick also found ways to endure a spate of muscle injuries that sidelined Yamal, Raphinha, Jules Kound\u00e9, Frenkie de Jong and other key players for several weeks at a time.<\/p>\n
The arrival of ‘keeper Joan Garc\u00eda shored up the goal, while the club overall got a boost by returning to partially refurbished Camp Nou after two years playing at a smaller stadium<\/p>\n
Group effort in attack<\/p>\n
With Flick often using Lewandowski as a substitute, the attack became a more collective effort.<\/p>\n
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Striker Ferran Torres used his greater mobility to link up well with Yamal and company and has scored 16 league goals, three more than Lewandowski. Marcus Rashford has contributed with eight goals \u2014 including the one on Sunday \u2014 and several assists as he adapts well to Barcelona while on loan from Manchester United.<\/p>\n
That said, the club is reportedly looking to sign a striker this summer, putting the immediate future of both Lewandowski and Rashford in doubt.<\/p>\n
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