Barcelona will have to wait until at least Saturday to be crowned champions of LaLiga for the 26th time after Atletico Madrid’s win at home to Valencia on Wednesday.
The Catalans beat Alaves 2-0 at Mendizorrotza on Tuesday thanks to goals from Carles Alena and Luis Suarez to move 12 points provisionally clear of Diego Simeone’s side.
A loss for the Rojiblancos against Valencia therefore meant Barca would be confirmed as champions on Wednesday, but the Rojiblancos came out on top as strikes from Alvaro Morata. Antoine Griezmann and a late goal from Angel Correa sealed a 3-2 win over Marcelino’s men.
That means Barca’s lead over Atletico now stands at nine points with four rounds of the competition remaining and Ernesto Valverde’s side will have the chance to seal the title in front of their own fans as they face relegation-threatened Levante at Camp Nou on Saturday.
“The truth is that is what I would prefer to win it in front of our fans and to celebrate the success with them,” midfielder Carles Alena said after the win at Alaves on Tuesday.
A win in that match will be sufficient, whatever happens in Atletico’s game against Valladolid at the weekend, that because of the Catalans’ superior head-to-head record in the teams’ two meetings in the league this term.
Failure to beat Levante will mean Barca would have to wait a little longer, providing Atletico defeat Valladolid, but Valverde’s side need just three more points to seal the title and have three matches left after Saturday: away to Celta Vigo in the 36th round of La Liga, at home to Getafe the following weekend and at Eibar on the last day of the season.
Barcelona are also still on course for a possible treble, with a Champions League semi-final against Liverpool ahead in the next two weeks and a Copa del Rey showpiece versus Valencia coming up next month.
