Manager predicts La Liga title will serve as springboard

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes his side's 23rd La Liga title can be the launching pad for another prolonged period of success and a potential treble this season.

Lionel Messi scored the winner to hand the Catalans a fifth title in seven years with a 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday as Barca returned the favor after Los Rojiblancos sealed the title at Camp Nou exactly a year ago.

Barca faces Athletic Bilbao on home soil in the Copa del Rey final on May 30 before taking on Juventus in the Champions League final a week later.

Enrique was recruited along with seven new players last summer after Barca's first trophyless campaign in six years and he lauded its response in what he described a season of "transition".

"I hope it can be a new era. We have to deserve to win the other titles. We have two finals left and we need to show we are better than the opponents," he said.

"We started 10 months ago with many changes in the club and coming off a season having not won anything.

"We knew it would be a season of transition and we tried to do our best. We have two titles still to play for but we already have the one that rewards consistency."

A treble would be just the second in Barca's 115-year history.

However, many of the current squad were also part of the side that achieved the feat for the first time in the 2008-09 season.

One of the those was midfielder Sergio Busquets, who said the marathon of a 38-game La Liga season makes it the toughest competition to win.

"Last year we weren't at the level required to be champions. This year we are on the right track, the first trophy is out of the way and now we have to celebrate it because it's the hardest competition to win as you have to play against all of the teams and be consistent," said Busquets.

"It's the most important one, you're competing every week, playing against other sides home and away. The Champions League is more prestigious but the league's more important.

"We are still a young team. There are still quite a few players from the (Pep) Guardiola era. This could turn out to be an historic season for us."

In contrast to Barcelona's euphoria, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was left to face the fact his side will go without a major trophy this season despite Crisiano Ronaldo registering his 30th hat-trick for the club in a 4-1 win at Espanyol.

Madrid led the league for four months after a 22-game winning streak to end 2014, but ultimately paid for a run of one win in four games in February and March.

"I congratulate Barcelona and my colleague Luis Enrique for winning the title," said Ancelotti.

"The overall balance of the season isn't positive. Madrid always play to win and that hasn't happened.

"We had a very good first half of the season but it was more difficult in the second part."

Moment of magic

As so often this season, it was Messi who provided the moment of magic for Barca as he played a neat one-two with Pedro Rodriguez inside the area before prodding the ball into the far corner.

Messi then teed up Neymar with a great opportunity to seal the title, but the Brazilian failed to continue his seven-game scoring streak as he blasted over with just Oblak to beat.

That miss mattered little, though, as the visiting side comfortably saw out the final few minutes.

Madrid did all it could to keep the pressure on Barca as Ronaldo all but ensured he will at least win his duel with Messi to be the league's top scorer by taking his tally for the league season to 45.

The Portuguese put Madrid ahead before an error from Keylor Navas allowed Christian Stuani to level for Espanyol.

However, Marcelo put Carlo Ancelotti's men back in front before Ronaldo struck twice in the final eight minutes.

At the bottom, Deportivo la Coruna and Granada moved out of the relegation zone with victories over Levante and Real Sociedad respectively.

They now lead Eibar and Almeria by two points with all four fighting for survival on the final day of the season on Saturday.

(China Daily 05/19/2015 page19)