MADRID, May 15 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona were confirmed as La Liga champions on Sunday after a 4-2 win away to Espanyol. Xavi Hernandez side won the title with four matches to play. Here are four things we learned this weekend in Spain.
1. BARCA ARE DESERVING CHAMPIONS
Any team that wins the league title with four games to play has clearly been the best side in La Liga. Real Madrid fans may point to their side's 4-0 win in the Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey semifinal and say they have the best team, but winning the league is not just about winning one match, it is about showing consistency over a period of 38 matches.
Real Madrid looked better before the World Cup finals, but their title challenge was spoiled by a series of inconsistent displays in the New Year, while Barcelona, without ever hitting the heights of Pep Guardiola or Luis Enrique's best teams, were consistent throughout the campaign.
2. DEFENCE IS KEY TO TITLE
Although they are the second-highest goalscorers in La Liga, Barca have not always been as effective in attack as in the past: the loss of Leo Messi and Ansu Fati's failure to fully recover from injury have been issues for the past couple of seasons, and although Robert Lewandowski's goals have been vital, nobody else in the team has reached double figures.
Barca's success this season is mainly down to their defense and goalkeeper, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, who has conceded a miserly 13 goals all campaign (with two of those on Sunday).
That defensive record has helped Barcelona win 12 of their 34 league games to date by 1-0, which may not have been staggeringly entertaining, but it has been effective.
3. VILLARREAL IMPRESS AS ATHLETIC SLIP AT WRONG MOMENT
Villarreal look set to qualify for at least a place in next season's Europa League after an impressive 5-1 win over Athletic Club Bilbao. Quique Setien's players used their pace on the break, with the impressive Nicolas Jackson netting twice and Alex Baena scoring two more goals.
Villarreal took advantage of a high defensive life and four wins in their last five matches leave them looking comfortable in La Liga.
The result was a big disappointment for Athletic, who wasted chances to open the scoring, but then left too many spaces through midfield for their rivals to exploit.
Three weeks ago, Athletic were the form team and looked set for a place in Europe, but three defeats and two draws in their last five games mean the best they can now hope for is to finish seventh.
4. RELEGATION BATTLE IS CLOSER THAN EVER
Valencia's 2-1 win away to Celta Vigo allows Ruben Baraja's men to heave a sigh of relief and move three points clear of the bottom three, even though with four games still to play they are not safe yet. However, everyone else in the relegation dogfight lost, with Getafe beaten by Real Madrid, Espanyol thrashed by Barcelona, Valladolid crashing to a fourth consecutive defeat and Cadiz and Almeria also losing away from home.
Just two points separate 15th place Almeria from Getafe in 18th, with Espanyol three points further behind. Cadiz play Valladolid next weekend and that looks like it could be decisive for one or both of the teams. ■