How Barcelona won La Liga: Yamal channels that No. 10 magic and Flick fills the gaps
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — 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 this season to a second straight Spanish league title . 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.
Hansi Flick’s 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. 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 Mbappé. Here’s a closer look at how Barcelona again won La Liga: Yamal takes the lead Since his debut at age 15, Yamal has delivered performance after brilliant performance to earn the privilege of being considered Barcelona’s heir apparent to the one-and-only Messi.
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. He also leads the league in dribbles with 133. 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.
Beyond the numbers, his creativity with the ball and the fancy footwork, Yamal provided his contagious competitive attitude that never faded. Pedri and Fermín dictate the pace Barcelona again had the top midfield and used it to crush the competition. It was leading the 20-team division both in scoring and defense with 91 goals scored and 31 conceded.
Pedri González 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 Hernández. Fermín López was targeted by Chelsea in last summer’s transfer window, but the 22-year-old stayed put and emerged as a key player for Flick. Fermín scored 13 goals and made nine assists.