Barcelona players attacked by angry mob during La Liga title celebrations

FC Barcelona players endured a horror end to their night after they won their 27th league title on Sunday. The Blaugrana won 4-2 away at Espanyol, and were unfortunately forced to run to the tunnel to escape a mob of angry pitch invaders.

After the final whistle, Barcelona knew that the three points were enough to secure their first La Liga title since 2019. Naturally, the players gathered together to celebrate on the pitch. They linked hands and started to dance around the centre-circle, which was a sight that was obviously not appreciated by the home fans.

With Espanyol battling relegation, the fans were obviously on edge. After losing convincingly to the champions, tempers flared as the Barcelona squad started their celebrations. Angry fans jumped through the barriers from the stands and onto the pitch and started charging towards the players.

Security officers tried to stop the onslaught, but as more and more fans invaded the pitch, the authorities could no longer hold them back. Luckily, the Barcelona players were able to rush towards the tunnel and into the dressing room before being trapped in the middle of the crowd. No injuries have been reported thus far, but according to another video shared online, captain Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had to be restrained by Marcos Alonso and Ronald Araujo as well as a number of security officers as they confronted some attacking fans while already inside the tunnel.

The same report claims that some of the fans were wielding weapons as they charged towards the Barcelona squad.

Xavi admits it was 'direspectful' to celebrate

In the heat of the moment, the Barcelona players were understandably swept away by the jubilation after their victory. Considering all the turmoil behind the scenes at the Camp Nou this season, winning La Liga was a massive achievement for the Catalan side. However, manager Xavi Hernandez admitted that they should have held themselves back from openly celebrating away from home.

"It's normal to celebrate but I understand that we are not at home and we can't be disrespectful," Xavi told the press after the match and in the wake of the pitch invasion. The former midfielder stated that he understood the feelings of the home crowd, which was why they had decided not to accept the trophy on Sunday. However, the players started dancing, which unfortunately led to the chaos.

Xavi confirmed that he ordered his players to leave the pitch in order to avoid the danger and to stop provoking the already incendiary home crowd even further. "I know it's difficult to control, but I told the players the best thing was to go inside," he said.

Barcelona were convincing on the night

Even though they crashed out of this season's European competitions early, Barcelona were dominant in La Liga, winning with four matches left to play. Robert Lewandowski led the team against Espanyol on Sunday, scoring two of the club's four goals.

The Polish star latched onto a pass from Alejandro Balde to put the visitors in front after only eleven minutes, and the latter made it 2-0 ten minutes later. Lewandowski scored his second goal of the night and 71st of the season just before the break. Jules Kounde then scored Barcelona's fourth goal eight minutes after the restart.

Espanyol were well and truly buried, but after Barcelona relaxed towards the end of the match, Javi Puado and Joselu managed to score a pair of consolation goals to save the home side their blushes.

Barcelona will celebrate with a parade on Monday

Following the dangerous incident at the RCDE Stadium on Sunday, Barcelona have announced that they will be holding an open-top bus parade on Monday, May 15. The parade will feature both the FC Barcelona men's first-team squad as well as the players of Barcelona Femeni, who are also La Liga title winners.

The parade will kick off from the Camp Nou at 6:00 pm local time, and will pass the usual route through Travessera de les Corts, Carrer Numància, Carrer Berlin, Plaça Catalunya and Passeig de Sant Joan, before arriving at Arc del Triomf.

The general public is being asked to be mindful of the possible disruptions and road closures in order to avoid any inconvenience.