3 winners and 1 loser from Barcelona’s 4-2 La Liga victory against Espanyol

Barcelona wasted no time in mathematically clinching their first La Liga title in four years, doing so in their first opportunity thanks to a dominant 4-2 win in the local derby against crosstown rivals Espanyol at Cornellà. Barça played 60 minutes of sublime football and wrapped up a brilliant victory to officially end the title race and start the celebrations for Xavi Hernández and his troops.

Here are the winners and losers from Sunday’s action:

Winners

Alejandro Balde: The young full-back started preseason as a loan candidate and finishes the year as the undisputed starter in the position going into the next campaign, and his performance on Sunday showcased everything that makes Balde such an exciting prospect: his pace and strength to deal with one-on-one duels at the back, and the constantly evolving of his attacking arsenal which resulted in a goal and an assist for the 19-year-old.