Tito Vilanova's Barcelona have celebrated their 22nd La Liga conquest at a damp Camp Nou after defeating Valladolid 2-1 on Sunday.

Despite having to negotiate the terrible conditions in front of their lowest home crowd of the season, the Blaugrana did enough to sweep aside the lowly rated opponents and appease the 56,055 fans who managed to stick it out.

In Victor Valdes' 500th and potentially final appearance for the club, it was Andres Iniesta who created the first chance of the match when he sent David Villa away, who could only direct his shot marginally wide.

The first goal came after 21 minutes when Pedro latched on to a ball from Xavi, who had no hesitation in firing a low shot under Jaime in Valladolid's goal.

It was the Spaniard's first goal of the season, and was not to be the home side's last. Xavi's corner was met by Pucela and former Barcelona youth defender Marc Valiente, who could only deflect the ball into his own net.

In the second half, Cesc Fabregas and Martin Montoya had chances to net a third, but it was Victor Perez who scored the third goal of the game, when he converted from the penalty spot after Montoya felled Manucho.

Notwithstanding the late scare, Barca received the La Liga trophy after the final whistle, and in a fitting gesture, captain Carles Puyol gave the silverware to Tito Vilanova and Eric Abidal, who both recently battled major health scares.

“We won the league, but the most important thing is that Eric and Tito are with us,” said Puyol, before adding the traditional battle cry of “Long live Barca! And long live Catalonia!”

“From all of us, it is a real pleasure to share this title with you,” Vilanova told the fans. “It was gone for one year, but now it is back.”

“We are proud of this title but we are also proud of (Vilanova and Abidal),” said Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez. “They deserve it for having fought back to be here.”

The win keeps alive the possibility of equalling Real Madrid's record of 100 points in a season, which they can do if they overcome Espanyol and Malaga in their final two games.

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The title may be sewn up, but Tito Vilanova's men want to finish the season on a high note...

Sunday 19 May 2013

Barcelona secured their fourth domestic league title in five seasons with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid. Even though their opposition may have had more thoughts on their impending Copa del Rey Final against local rivals Real Madrid, the Blaugrana were still good enough to overcome them. However, the biggest concern to come out of the match was that Lionel Messi limped off with an injury. The Argentine won't be seen for the remainder of the season, joining captain Carles Puyol on the sidelines. Xavi and Sergio Busquets will also return to the starting XI.

Valladolid also secured something last week: their participation in Spain's top-flight for next season. Beating Deportivo La Coruna last weekend 1-0 thanks to Javi Garcia's second-half strike, the side is now aiming to finish off strongly. Omar Ramos returns from suspension, but Antonio Rukavina was shown his fifth yellow card for the campaign, meaning he'll miss this match. Henrique Sereno may take his spot in defence.

Hard to go by Barcelona.

Prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Real Valladolid 

Roma's focus will be to leapfrog cross-town rivals Lazio on the ladder whilst Napoli want to end the season on a high, as both teams meet on Sunday...

Sunday 19 May 2013

Roma's season has been as tumultuous as a rollercoaster ride after eating several hotdogs. And the past three matches by the Giallorossi has exactly shown this. Winning away against Fiorentina before losing at home to Chievo, Andrea Andreazzoli's men put up a stern fight to hold Milan to a scoreless draw last weekend. Add to this that a contentious penalty could have been awarded to the Lupi, and the result could have gone another way. However, losing inspirational captain Francesco Totti at the very end after elbowing former team-mate Philippe Mexes. Miralem Pjanic made an appearance off the bench for the clash against the Rossoneri, and should start on Sunday.

Napoli have won eight of their past nine Serie A matches, and are flying! Speculation has intensified over whether coach Walter Mazzarri will remain with the club beyond June 30, as he is a sought-after tactician. Not only is their much-admired attack led by Edinson Cavani working at full capacity, but it is the Partenopei defence which is running optimally. Conceding only five goals in six matches, Mazzarri has gotten the right mix. But the Azzurri did have to do it the hard way against Siena last weekend, allowing the Robur to take the lead, and then leaving it until the final minutes to grab the win thanks to Marek Hamsik.

Consistency will see Napoli grab a result here, but Roma have put in strong performances against the big teams this term.

Prediction: Roma 1-2 Napoli