Barcelona wins the La Liga title with a rout of Espanyol.

Barcelona defeated Espanyol 4-2 on Sunday to reclaim the La Liga championship from rival Real Madrid for the first time since 2019.

At the home of their neighbors, the Catalan giants won their 27th Spanish championship, but things turned ugly at the end as Barcelona players were escorted off the field by pitch invaders.

Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde also scored for Barcelona, and Robert Lewandowski scored twice for them. Late in the game, the hosts got two goals back through Javi Puado and Joselu.

Barcelona has had a difficult time lately, both on and off the field, but their victory today represents a significant improvement, and coach Xavi Hernandez has won his first significant trophy since taking over in November 2021.

Given the club's precarious financial situation, President Joan Laporta's rebuild received harsh criticism last summer.

Although an early Champions League exit was disappointing, the club rebounded in January by winning the Spanish Super Cup and then clinching La Liga victory with four games remaining.

"It's a magnificent feeling, (of) work well done," Xavi said to Movistar.

"Ten months of effort and hardship. The club and the supporters both deserve it, and it gives us stability and assurance that things are going well.

"With a fantastic game, we sealed La Liga. We were brilliant."

Barcelona's first team took the field with one goal in mind and the end in sight after Xavi made no unexpected lineup changes.

With four games left, they produced an electrifying performance, one of their best this season, to secure the victory and drop their city rivals to 19th place, four points from safety.

After 11 minutes, Barcelona scored a well-executed goal, Lewandowski completing it for his 20th La Liga goal of the year.

For left-back Balde, who sped past Espanyol defender Oscar Gil and crossed for Lewandowski to score from close range, Ronald Araujo delivered an inch-perfect long pass.

For the second goal, which was scored by the young left back after Pedri sprinted to the byline and scooped an inviting cross to the back post, Gil was once more beaten by Balde.

It was Balde's first goal for Barcelona, capping a fantastic season of growth for the youngster who has gradually replaced seasoned defender Jordi Alba.

Lewandowski's shot was deflected away by Espanyol goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco as Barcelona poured forward and the home team struggled to avoid being overwhelmed.

'Can't lack respect'

It worked for a while, but just before halftime, the visitors scored when Raphinha set up Lewandowski to roll in the third goal.

The Catalans have reaped the rewards of the Polish striker's departure from Bayern Munich, who was an important component of the rebuilding effort last summer.

At the very end of the first period, Marc-Andre ter Stegen of Barcelona made an outstanding save to keep Martin Braithwaite from scoring from close range.

Early in the second half, Kounde scored the fourth goal after Frenkie de Jong's exquisite chipped pass caused another defensive breakdown for Espanyol.

While some Espanyol supporters left the stadium early, others chanted for the resignation of the board of directors and made one offensive reference to the club's Chinese owners.

In an effort to equal the La Liga record for clean sheets in a season (26), Ter Stegen denied Puado when he was in on goal.

However, the Espanyol forward soon found himself through on goal again and scored with a beautiful lob, providing little solace in the face of Espanyol's defeat and Barcelona's triumph.

In the dying seconds, Joselu added another goal, but it was too little, too late.

At the conclusion of the game, Xavi's team celebrated, infuriating Espanyol supporters who invaded the field. Barcelona players fled down the tunnel.

"The celebration is normal, but I know we're not at home, and we can't lack respect," Xavi continued.

"I told them the best thing would be to get inside now. I know it's hard to control."