Barcelona wins Spanish league for 1st time since 2019, 27th overall

May 14, 2023 | 2:04 PM

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona won its first Spanish league title after the departure of Lionel Messi with a 4-2 victory against Espanyol on Sunday.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice to lead the Catalan club to its first league title since 2019.

The title was secured with four rounds remaining and two years after Messi left amid the club’s financial struggles.

Alejandro Balde and Jules Koundé also scored for Barcelona, which now has 27 league titles, eight fewer than Real Madrid.