FC Barcelona: Five Reasons why La Blaugrana became La Liga Champions

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FC Barcelona have already been crowned as LaLiga Santander champions, mathematically securing top spot with four matchdays to spare.

This is the 27th league trophy won by the Blaugrana, and it is their first since 2019. Xavi Hernández now joins the exclusive club of FC Barcelona legends to win the league title as player and coach of the team.

Here are the five reasons which played a pivotal role in Barcelona's La Liga winning campaign this season-

Solidity at the back

No team across the five major European leagues has conceded fewer goals than FC Barcelona this season. In their bid to strengthen their defence back in the summer, FC Barcelona brought in Marcos Alonso, Andreas Christensen and Jules Koundé, all of whom pitched in to turn FC Barcelona's back line into the best defence in Spain this season.

Ronald Araújo stepped up too and became the leader of the FC Barcelona defence following the retirement of Gerard Piqué mid-season, while the outstanding performances of Alejandro Balde at left-back even forced Xavi to bench former teammate Jordi Alba on many occasions and opt for the 19-year-old instead.

Then, whenever they were breached, Marc-André ter Stegen was there to make some incredible saves. This FC Barcelona goalkeeping and defensive unit has managed an extraordinary 25 clean sheets in 34 games so far this season.

Robert Lewandowski's goals

Having arrived at the club last summer, Lewandowski offered FC Barcelona what they have been missing since Lionel Messi's departure back in 2021. The Argentine was LaLiga Santander's top scorer in eight campaigns, reaching the 30-goal mark in all but one of these seasons.

The Blaugrana then struggled in the final third in 2021/22, when no FC Barcelona player scored more than 12 league goals. Enter Lewandowski, who has netted 21 goals in 30 matches, currently competing with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, for the Pichichi Trophy.

Lewandowski provided the firepower that helped the team unlock compact defences and break down low blocks throughout the season. His goals have been as important as Marc-André ter Stegen's clean sheets in 2022/23.

The FC Barcelona fortress

Summer signings, attractive football and motivation to push their team to their first league title since 2019 are just some of the factors that have led FC Barcelona fans to pack the Camp Nou week in week out this season.

Averaging attendances of more than 82,000 spectators per game, the legendary FC Barcelona ground has been turned into a fortress. In fact, the Blaugrana have not lost any of their home games thus far, recording 14 wins and three draws in 17 duels.

Only Rayo Vallecano (0-0) in the LaLiga Santander season opener, RCD Espanyol (1-1) on Matchday 15 and Girona FC (0-0) on Matchday 28, have managed to force Xavi's side to drop points on home soil, where they have conceded just two goals thus far.

Squad depth

There is no denying that Pedri and Ousmane Dembélé have been two of the most important cogs in Xavi's well-oiled machine this season.

However, the Catalan coach saw those two stars miss out on 11 and 17 games, respectively, due to injuries, and during the most crucial stretch of the season between February and April. Yet, summer signings such as Franck Kessié and Raphinha, as well as squad players such as Sergi Roberto, stepped up when the team needed them most to help the Blaugrana seal important victories, including a 2-1 win over Real Madrid on home soil courtesy of goals from the former AC Milan midfielder and the La Masia academy graduate.

Xavi's tactical tweak

Injuries to and a brief drop in form from some of his forwards forced Xavi to experiment with his formation and opt for one natural winger instead of two in the majority of FC Barcelona's games after the 2022 World Cup break.

The Catalan coach didn't quite abandon his preferred 4-3-3 formation, but he fielded line-ups featuring four midfielders, as either Gavi or Kessié would play close to Lewandowski up front in their bid to connect with the Polish striker, take advantage of opposition errors and create danger in front of the opposition goal. Xavi's magic did the trick and FC Barcelona found solutions in their bid to dictate the tempo in midfield and create an extra man in attack.