Barcelona scored four times in the final 30 minutes to earn a 4-2 win over Eibar in their final La Liga game of the season.
A couple of Takashi Inui goals stunned the hosts, who needed all three points and a Malaga victory over Real Madrid to stand any chance of winning the title.
They did eventually manage to complete their half of the bargain, scoring through a David Junca own goal, a close-range Luis Suarez finish and a couple of Lionel Messi goals in a dramatic game.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the La Liga meeting between Barcelona and Eibar at Camp Nou. After 37 games in the Spanish top flight it all boils down to this - one final round of action to determine the champions. The odds may be stacked against the Catalan club heading into this match, but title rivals Real Madrid face the trickier assignment as they visit Malaga.
Of the 35 occasions that the title has gone down to the wire, only six times has the side at the top of the pile at the start of the day thrown it away. The easy money is one Madrid to pick up a convincing win at La Rosaleda this evening and lift the top-flight crown for a 35th time, but Barca will try their best to ensure that it is not plain sailing. What a night we could be in store for!
TEAM NEWS!
BARCELONA XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Umtiti, Marlon, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
EIBAR XI: Yoel; Capa, Lejeune, Arbilla, Junca; Pena, Dani Garcia, Escalante, Inui; Enrich, Kike
Starting with a look at the home team, Luis Enrique has had a defensive crisis of sorts to contend with in the lead up to this game. Javier Mascherano, Jeremy Mathieu and Aleix Vidal are all on the sidelines, while Gerard Pique has been ruled out with a virus. Marlon Santos is therefore again turned to in the heart of defence, partnering Samuel Umtiti in a back four completed by Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba.
There are no surprises elsewhere, however, as Enrique is able to name his strongest midfield and attacking players. As ever, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez line up in the forward line, ahead of Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic. Messi has scored 51 goals in 50 appearances for Barca this season, including braces in six of his last 11 outings in all competitions.
All the focus very much on Marlon Santos in the centre of the hosts' backline, then, as he is turned to for the second match running due to what must be quite a serious illness Pique is facing. The Brazilian did not have an awful lot to do in that 4-1 win over Las Palmas last time out, but Eibar will no doubt look to get at him and make things interesting. A big night for his defensive partner Umtiti, too, as he must step up to the plate.
In terms of the visitors, Yoel is the man given the nod between the sticks, while Florian Lejeune and Anaitz Arbilla pair up in the heart of defence - a busy evening in store for them. Takashi Inui has recovered in time to feature, meanwhile, taking up a spot on the left-hand side, opposite Ruben Pena who will also have to do plenty of defensive work out on that flank if Barca are to be restricted.
There is no Fran Rico once again this evening, while Nano has a hamstring problem and also misses out. Sergi Enrich will be tasked with leading Eibar's line, looking to add to a tally of 12 goals in 39 outings this season - only one of which has come in his last 13 - and he will be joined by Kike in a likely 4-4-1-1, as boss Jose Luis Mendilibar sets out his team to get at Barcelona rather than sitting back.
BENCH WATCH!
BARCELONA SUBS: Cillessen, Denis Suarez, Arda Turan, Alcacer, Digne, Gomes, Borja Lopez
EIBAR SUBS: Riesgo, Galvez, Rivera, Dos Santos, Pedro Leon, Adrian, Bebe
Denis Suarez netted against today's opponents in the reverse fixture and, along with Paco Alcacer and Arda Turan, offers to best option to turn to if a goal is required in the final 30 minutes or so. Enrique will be hoping that it does not come to that, of course, with an early goal vital to put some pressure on Madrid who are playing down in Andalusia at the same time.
Just the one change made by Luis Enrique, then, as he brings in Sergi Roberto for Lucas Digne at right-back. Gerard Pique looked likely to return today after taking part in training on Friday, but his illness has clearly taken its toll and he again misses out, meaning another start for Marlon Santos at the back. The absence of Pique aside, Enrique has his strongest possible side.
Barcelona head into tonight's title showdown sitting second in the table, three points adrift of rivals Real Madrid who are in action away to Malaga - the trickier of the two matches, but one in which you would still fancy them to win comfortably. The Catalan club head into this match on the back of a six-match winning run that has seen them net a whopping 24 times and concede seven.
Form has certainly not been an issue for Barca in the closing weeks of the season if those recent results are anything to go by, while going further back it is nine wins from their last 10. It is a phenomenal run that saw them pick up victory at the Bernabeu on April 23 to keep the title race alive heading into the final throes; Messi netting twice in the Spanish capital to bring up his landmark 500th goal for the club.
It was a vital win for Barca, coming soon off the back of their shock defeat away to - of all sides - Malaga on April 8. That looked like being a pivotal day in the race for the title, with Real being held by Atletico Madrid earlier in the day through a late Antoine Griezmann strike, yet in hindsight that was a decent point for the current leaders in a fixture they tend to struggle in.
Their form since the beginning of February has been close to perfect, though, dropping points just twice in 17 outings, but Real have constantly managed to do enough to stay afloat at the top heading into these concluding fixtures. Los Blancos were 4-1 winners away to Celta Vigo in midweek and now require just one point at La Rosaleda, where they were held last season in different circumstances.
There was a sense that Real again benefited from refereeing decisions against Celta, as Barca have this season at times, particularly when Iago Aspas was denied a penalty and instead dismissed for a second caution at a pivotal moment in the game. There is nothing lucky about topping a table after 38 fixtures, though, and as Enrique has himself admitted this week, Real deserve to be congratulated if they get themselves over the line.
Madrid have lost just three games all season, making defeat tonight seem all the more unlikely down in Andalusia, netting 20 times in their last five matches since that potentially costly defeat to Barca a month ago. Should the unlikely happen and Los Blancos do indeed lose at La Rosaleda - just like Barca did - then the Catalan club could well be celebrating a 25th title success and a third in a row.
Should that be the case, Enrique will be the third Barcelona manager to win three titles in succession after Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff - two terrific Camp Nou bosses. Cruyff actually benefited from a final-day slip-up from Madrid in 1992 and again in 1993, as Los Blancos failed to beat Tenerife on both occasions to gift the title to their great rivals. Similar drama tonight and you will not hear the end of it for a long, long time.
This is the most exciting conclusion to a La Liga campaign since David Beckham's days in Madrid a decade ago, when Madrid came out on top by virtue of a superior head-to-head record. It was by that means that Barca found themselves top this time last week, only for Los Blancos to win their game in hand away to Celta in midweek. It has been very tight throughout, but it is very much the capital club side's title to throw away.
DID YOU KNOW? Barcelona have scored 112 goals in La Liga this season and need just three more tonight to equal their best ever tally for a single campaign, recorded in 2012-13. Lionel Messi leads the scoring charts with 35, eight ahead of teammate Luis Suarez and a further three in front of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentinian headed into this weekend's action level with Edinson Cavani as the top scorer in Europe's major five leagues.
It looks like being a season of disappointment for Barcelona, even if they end their campaign by winning the Copa del Rey next weekend. The standards are so high at Camp Nou that winning the biggest cup competition in Spain is simply not good enough, with fans demanding success in both La Liga and the Champions League. It could still, however, end with a famous double - some way for Luis Enrique to potentially bow out.
In terms of the visitors, they head to the Catalan capital sitting 10th in the table and looking to finish as high as eighth with an improbable victory here. Only four sides are still left to play their final fixtures, one of whom is Malaga directly below them, but there is a gap of eight points between the two teams. Regardless of the outcome tonight, this will go down as their finest-ever campaign.
Eibar have accumulated 54 points in all - 11 more than 2015-16 and 19 more than their maiden campaign at this level the year before. They must end Barcelona's run of 11-successive home wins if they are to add to their tally, though, which is the best streak under one manager at Camp Nou since Tito Vilanova (15) in May 2013. Los Armeros have been on the slide of late, however, losing back-to-back games against Atletico Madrid and Sporting Gijon.
It is fair to say that they now have nothing to lose in this remaining fixture, guaranteed a top-half finish no matter what the result at La Rosaleda, but Mendillas rightly wants to see his men climb back up to eighth - doable with victory at Camp Nou. It is just the one win in six for Eibar, and four points from the last 18 on offer, so they need to find their form of old if they are to pull off a major shock tonight.
Prior to this sluggish run of form, Eibar won three in a row in early April to climb up the division. They have also previously held Real to a draw at the Bernabeu this term, but they lost their other three games against the Madrid clubs. This will be the final game in the Camp Nou dugout for Mendilibar's opposite number Enrique, who could still bow out with 10 major honours depending on results in the next week.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Barcelona have won each of their last five games against Eibar in La Liga, scoring 16 goals and conceding just one. The Catalan giants won the reverse fixture 4-0 earlier in the campaign, as they did last season, thanks to goals from Denis Suarez, Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi. A similar result tonight may be in vain for the hosts, as they are relying on a helping hand from elsewhere.
With kickoff at Camp Nou now less than 10 minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Luis Enrique: "Focusing on work is the only way to deal with this situation. If we win the league, fantastic and we'll celebrate it. Otherwise, we will congratulate the champion because that is my modus operandi as a professional."
Jose Luis Mendilibar: "They are accustomed and have great players. We will have to do our work. They will pay even more attention to La Rosaleda and that may benefit them. Even so, I do not think they will be 3-0 up in the first few minutes."
Enrique basically saying that there can be no complaints if Real Madrid do indeed avoid a major slip-up at La Rosaleda tonight. They have simply been the better team across the duration of the campaign if that proves to be the case, although should the Catalan club come out on top then it will kick-start an almighty party in these parts. If you think the scenes after their 6-5 aggregate win over PSG were special, just wait to see the celebrations if Los Blancos lose.
Mendilibar was right to claim that Barca will have one eye on events in Andalusia - Enrique admitted as much. It is impossible not to be caught up with how your rivals are performing, but as far as Eibar are concerned they must just focus on the prize in front of them, which is winning at one of the most historic grounds on the planet. Tenth may not be as rewarding as first, though that is a position they can be hugely proud of.
Both sets of players have now made their way out on to the field of play. This will be Luis Enrique's final home game in charge of Barcelona, remember, although he does still have the Copa del Rey final meeting with Alaves at the Vicente Calderon to come. The Catalan club will either head into that match on an almighty high or a relative low, depending on how things pan out over the next two hours. Here we go!
KICKOFF! We are up and running at the Camp Nou. Updates from the Costa Del Sol over the duration of the evening, but our main focus will be on events between Barcelona and Eibar. Fingers crossed for plenty of twists and turns!
Umtiti with incredible composure at the back, producing a nice little flick to ensure that he can play out from the back rather than lumping the ball up the field. Enrich bursts through on goal but Marlon Santos was there to produce a big challenge.
UPDATE! MALAGA 0-1 REAL MADRID (CRISTIANO RONALDO)
Less than two minutes on the clock at La Rosaleda and Madrid already have the lead - Ronaldo latching on to an Isco through-ball and making no mistake when one-on-one. A crucial moment in the evening at such an early point. Could it be game over already?
Eibar with the best opening of the match so far, with Sergi Enrich through on goal if not for a fine Marlon Santos challenge. The hosts continuing to be patient, but the decibel levels have dropped around the ground following that Ronaldo goal elsewhere.
GOAL! BARCELONA 0-1 EIBAR (TAKASHI INUI)
To say things have started badly for Barcelona tonight would be putting it lightly. Soon after Madrid opened the scoring elsewhere, Takashi Inui found the net via the underside of the bar to give Eibar the lead here. Too much time for the cross to come in and Inui was in acres to blast home at the back post.
CHANCE! Glorious chance for Suarez to level things up, latching on to a terrible backpass and being given half the length of the field to run into. When one-on-one with Yoel he went for an outside-of-the-foot finish, sending the ball wide of goal.
Barca looking incredibly shaky at the back in the opening 13 minutes of the match, particularly for that Inui strike that could so easily have been prevented. Even still, it should be 1-1 but Suarez missed from a one-on-one position.
GOAL DISALLOWED! Suarez thought he had levelled up for the home side. Jordi Alba was played in behind and picked out Suarez 12 yards out to roll the ball home, but the full-back was rightly adjudged to have been offside.
Plenty of talking points across the two evening games in La Liga already, then. As things stand Barcelona need something close to a miracle if they are to end the day as champions. You would not bet against them recovering here, but Malaga need two goals against Madrid.
SAVE This will technically go down as a save, but it was more of a shot-cross that Yoel was made to keep out from Messi. The Barca maestro was played in down the right and found the target from the tight angle.
YELLOW CARD! Gonzalo Escalante guilty of showing too much of his boot when going in for a challenge on Messi, earning the first caution of the evening. Barcelona well on top at the moment but still trailing to That Inui strike.
Really good play from the hosts, as Neymar jiggles his way past a couple of players and looks to lift the ball over the Eibar backline. Yoel was on it in the end, however, as Busquets goes to ground seemingly clutching his ankle.
Real slick play from the hosts, which so nearly ends with Messi able to get a shot away. Enrich was the man tracking back to get a challenge in inside the opposition box, showing superb will to help out his side in a defensive sense.
A small shout for a penalty turned down for the hosts, as Alba cuts the ball back into a dangerous area. Suarez missed it and Neymar appeared to be pushed off the ball, but replays show that Junca barely touched him - if at all!
The opening third of this match has flown by. As things stand Barcelona require two goals of their own and also hope for a huge helping hand from Malaga, who trail Madrid elsewhere. The party has surely already begun in the capital.
YELLOW CARD! Ander Capa catches Iniesta late and is the second Eibar player to see yellow in this first half. Barca not playing bad, as such, but they are not creating enough chances at the moment to trouble the visitors.
SAVE! More than 25 minutes have elapsed since Eibar opened the scoring here, but Barca have created just two big chances in response. One fell to Suarez, the other to Rakitic moments ago as he picked out Yoel from Roberto's pullback.
The Catalan club constantly finding themselves in promising positions, especially down either flank, but that final ball is often lacking. In the end it probably won't matter, regardless, as Madrid still lead at Malaga.
SAVE! Top save from Yoel to deny Suarez. The Uruguayan placed his first one-on-one wide; this second one, from an Iniesta through-ball, was kept out by the Eibar keeper down low. The hosts starting to step things up now.
Neymar gets the better of Capa down the left, sending his opponent to the ground, but when looking up for a teammate he is thwarted by the leg of Yoel. A goal for Barca before the break will certainly lift the sense of gloom.
YELLOW CARD! A third caution of the half, and a first shown to a Barcelona player as Sergio Busquets enters the referee's book for his challenge. The midfielder aggrieved, claiming that his opponent feigned the injury.
Iniesta tries his best to keep Barca's latest attack alive with a little flick. The ball is at a good height for Yoel to jump and collect, though, preventing Suarez from getting on the end of it. Two minutes of the half left to play.
CHANCE! WHAT A MISS! An absolute sitter from Ruben Pena, following a fine Ter Stegen save. Inui's shot was was kept out by the Barca stopper, but Pena somehow placed the rebound wide from a few yards out. Should be 2-0.
HALF TIME: BARCELONA 0-1 EIBAR
The half-time whistle sounds at Camp Nou, where Eibar hold a shock 1-0 lead over Barcelona. Takashi Inui opened the scoring seven minutes in and, although the hosts have done enough to level up since then, they have been far from their free-flowing best. A big 45 minutes ahead for them!
Just moments after news filtered around Camp Nou of Cristiano Ronaldo's key opener for Real Madrid at Malaga, Barca found themselves a goal down when Takashi Inui was given plenty of space to rifle home a right-sided cross via the underside of the bar. It was poor defending from the hosts, who had to field youngster Marlon Santos in their backline once again due to the illness absence of Gerard Pique and further injuries elsewhere.
Luis Suarez squandered Barcelona's best chance to level up in the first half, placing the ball wide with the outside of his boot when played clean through by a dismal back pass. The Uruguayan thought that he had got the better of Yoel soon after, only for the offside flag to correctly go up due to Jordi Alba being offside in the build-up. Ivan Rakitic picked out the Eibar stopper from Sergi Roberto's pullback and Suarez was again thwarted from another one-on-one, this time denied down low, yet the visitors could well have gone into the break with a two-goal lead.
Goalscorer Inui produced a top save out of Marc-Andre ter Stegen from distance, and Ruben Pena could only stick the rebound wide of goal from just a few yards out. Barcelona with plenty to do in the second half, the, but will Luis Enrique spring into action at the interval? Incidentally, while we await the players to arrive for the second half, why not take part in the Sports Mole Reader Awards by clicking on the link below.
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BARCELONA SUBS: Cillessen, Denis Suarez, Arda Turan, Alcacer, Digne, Gomes, Borja Lopez
EIBAR SUBS: Riesgo, Galvez, Rivera, Dos Santos, Pedro Leon, Adrian, Bebe
RESTART! We are back under way at Camp Nou, where Inui almost added a second for the visitors - Ter Stegen using his big hands to keep out the lively midfielder at his front post. Barca made a change at the break by bringing on Gomes for Roberto.
Eibar certainly not making life easy for Barcelona. They have created chances equally as big as their opponents since taking the lead, but they still have more than 40 minutes to see out for this famous result.
SAVE! Iniesta makes good contact with his shot 15 yards out, but Yoel is down well to push it aside and the rebound is cleared away after Suarez got there first. A sense that the hosts now beginning to turn the screw.
SAVE! Another stop made by Yoel, once again to keep out Iniesta. This one was at a better height, but he had to get across to push the ball aside. The home side enjoying some sustained pressure for the first time tonight.
YELLOW CARD! Ruben Pena booked for preventing the home side from taking a quick free kick. Prior to that, Suarez stamped on the leg of Arbilla - presumably on accident - after being flagged for offside. Card count starting to rack up.
CHANCE! When Messi misses from a few yards out you know it is not going to be your day. Suarez could have taken on the shot but instead rolled it to Messi, who took a touch yet still fired wide of the goal. A shocker from the Barca maestro!
UPDATE! MALAGA 0-2 REAL MADRID (KARIM BENZEMA)
The La Liga title race is over. Los Blancos are two up at La Rosaleda, meaning that Malaga now need to score three times. It matters little, anyway, because Barca are themselves trailing at home to Eibar.
GOAL! BARCELONA 0-2 EIBAR (TAKASHI INUI)
Madrid's likely win at Malaga is a blessing in disguise for Barca, because they are heading for a shock defeat here. Another stunning finish from Inui, who smashed a half-volley in off the bar after Enrich helped it into his path.
GOAL! BARCELONA 1-2 EIBAR (DAVID JUNCA, OG)
Much better from Barcelona, yet so cruel on their opponents. Neymar was played through and picked out the post, but the ball came back off Junca and trickled over the line. A route back into the match and Barca now have some momentum.
CHANCE! Rakitic very nearly in but Eibar manage to do enough to thwart him. No surprise to see the hosts in the ascendancy, as Neymar blasts wide from a glorious position. That is now Suarez, Messi and Neymar who have wasted chances.
PENALTY TO BARCELONA! An absolute shocker from the referee - and I mean a shocker. Alba went down inside the box with nobody within a yard of him, yet the referee fell for it and pointed to the spot. Messi to step up.
PENALTY SAVED! Justice has been done! Lionel Messi is having a shocker tonight, putting his penalty at a good height for Yoel to keep out. This is not how Luis Enrique envisaged his final home match in charge panning out.
GOAL! BARCELONA 2-2 EIBAR (LUIS SUAREZ)
Suarez nets his 37th goal of the season, getting on the end of substitute Paco Alcacer's front-post flick-on and turning the ball past Yoel. The pressure had been building and Barca have come from two behind to level things up.
PENALTY TO BARCELONA! What a game! This time the referee makes the right call, pointing to the spot after Capa brought down Neymar inside the area. It looks as though Messi will stay on penalty duties despite that earlier miss.
GOAL! BARCELONA 3-2 EIBAR (LIONEL MESSI, PEN)
Messi so nearly misses his second pen of the evening, with Yoel getting a touch to the ball but not doing enough to keep it out. Capa was shown a second yellow for his challenge on Neymar, incidentally, so the visitors down to 10 men for the remainder.
For the first time tonight Barcelona have the lead, with just 11 minutes left to see through. Job done on their behalf - just! - but it remains 2-0 to Real Madrid at La Rosaleda and the title will be heading to the Bernabeu.
Things appear to have calmed down a little now following a truly crazy spell in the match. Messi's penalty put the hosts 3-2 ahead and since then they have looked as though they will comfortably see things through.
Into the final seven minutes at Camp Nou, where Barca hold a slender advantage. No real drama on the last day, though, due to Madrid's dominance elsewhere this evening - no chance of them shipping three times in the closing stages at Malaga.
A free kick for Barca 30 yards out, which is just a little too far out for Messi to temp Messi. It is instead floated into the box but easily cleared away. Eibar barely mustered an attack since falling behind, not helped by Capa's red.
Full credit to the visitors because they are putting in plenty of effort in these closing stages. Lots of energy on display, as a cross from the right is helped clear by Ter Stegen. Do not bet against a late twist here.
The season will end with Eibar in their league-high finish of 10th and Barcelona second. Luis Enrique now relying on the Copa del Rey to ensure that he bows out with some silverware, with that final against Alaves now containing added significance.
GOAL! BARCELONA 4-2 EIBAR (LIONEL MESSI)
Messi missed another big chance, but in typical style he picked himself up and tucked away his second of the night. Great little shimmy and then a smart finish into the bottom corner. A good comeback from the Catalan club.
FULL TIME: BARCELONA 4-2 EIBAR
The curtain comes down on Barcelona's La Liga campaign, ending with them second in the table. They certainly gave supporters their money's worth this evening, recovering from two down with four goals in the final 30 minutes, but it was ultimately too little to overhaul Real Madrid - winners at Malaga elsewhere this evening - at the top.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at Camp Nou. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while a recap of how Real Madrid got the job done against Malaga can be viewed here. Thanks for joining!
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