Written by Tales Azzoni at San Francisco Chronicle.com
Barcelona left it late — very late — but finally rescued its season by pulling off five straight victories to clinch its second straight Spanish league title on Saturday.
There was as much relief as joy when Barcelona defeated Granada 3-0 in the last round, with a hat trick by league top scorer Luis Suarez. That meant Barcelona finished one point ahead of Real Madrid, which fell short despite winning its last 12 league games.
Barcelona avoided what would have been a disastrous title loss after it led fierce rival Madrid by 12 points with nine rounds to go.
“We had to work really hard and suffered until the end,” said Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, who now has eight Spanish league titles along with Lionel Messi and former player Xavi Hernandez. “We struggled a bit after we opened a very good advantage, but in the end it’s the most regular team that wins the league.”
Madrid defeated Deportivo 2-0 on Saturday with two goals by Cristiano Ronaldo, but it needed Barcelona to stumble in order to clinch its first title since 2012.
After the final whistle in Granada, Barcelona players formed a circle near the benches and jumped up and down while chanting “Campeones, Campeones.”
Several hundred fans from both teams came onto the pitch as players struggled to find their way off.
Thousands of Barcelona fans gathered in the city to celebrate, although the club said the official parade will take place on Sunday evening.
Barcelona, which finished with 91 points, has won six of the last eight Spanish league titles, and eight of the last 12. It has 24 titles in total, eight less than Real Madrid, the league’s most successful club.
“Six titles in eight seasons says a lot about this generation,” Iniesta said.
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