BARCELONA: Lionel Messi clinched an eighth La Liga title for Barcelona in 11 seasons on Saturday as he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at home to Levante.

The Argentine star struck his league-leading 34th goal of the campaign after coming off the bench for the second half to help Barca wrap up the title with three games remaining.

Barcelona’s win put them nine points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid with three rounds to play. Barcelona hold the tie-breaker with Atletico on head-to-head goals.

Atletico beat Real Valladolid 1-0 earlier, forcing Barca to need a victory to wrap up the title this weekend before they turn their attention to their upcoming European clash with Liverpool.

With the league recaptured, Barcelona can focus on completing a rare treble. In the Champions League, they host Liverpool on Wednesday in the semi-finals, and in the Copa del Rey, they face Valencia in the final on May 25.

“This club was important before, but this generation of players has made it one-of-a-kind, for the titles we have won and the way we have won them,” Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets said. “And we want to keep this going. We are fortunate enough to be in two more competitions and we hope that we can celebrate more this season.”

It was Barca’s 26th league title and nudges them closer to Real Madrid’s record of 33 in Spain.

“To win the title with a distance and gap is difficult with the rivals we have. We’ve done it two years in a row,” Barca coach Ernesto Valverde told Movistar. “We’re happy and to see people enjoying it makes us proud. But we still have challenges ahead.”

Valverde initially left Messi on the bench with Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Liverpool in mind, but he replaced Philippe Coutinho at the break at the Camp Nou.

Coutinho and Luis Suarez pressed Levante goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez into action early on, the Brazilian coming closest to breaking the deadlock when his free-kick rattled the crossbar shortly before half-time.

He was sacrificed for Messi though, and it proved an inspired decision as the Argentine swept in the winner on 62 minutes following a frantic scramble inside the Levante area.

The visitors, not yet safe from the threat of relegation, responded and put Barca on the defensive but were denied a last-gasp equaliser when the ball hit the post and rolled into the grateful arms of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

“In the end he scored the goal. He always scores goals everywhere,” Valverde said of Messi, who celebrated winning his 10th league crown.

Atletico’s win kept them on pace to at least finish above crosstown rivals Real Madrid, who they lead by nine points.

An own-goal by Valladolid defender Joaquin Fernandez in the 66th gave Atletico their sixth win in seven matches. The only setback for Diego Simeone’s team was a 2-0 loss at Barca, a result that virtually ended their title hopes.

Athletic Bilbao was held by Alaves to 1-1, a result that didn’t help either club in the fight for European spots. Celta Vigo took a point from a 0-0 draw at Leganes as they try to avoid the drop.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2019