Cristiano Ronaldo scored his sixth goal of the season in Barcelona’s 3-2 win over Sevilla to lift Barça to the Catalan giants’ second consecutive league title and the Champions League semi-final.
Ronaldo’s treble – his first in 11 years – was the first of four for the Barca players in the Champions’ League semi‑final against FC Bayern München, the first time the two sides had met in the competition since 2010.
After Sevilla’s equaliser, Ronaldo scored again, this time to set up a dramatic finale when he volleyed home the winner in the 85th minute from the penalty spot to seal the title for Barça.
Sevilla had already beaten Barça in the last 16 of the Champions league last season and the result was not without drama.
The game was halted when Sevilla player Dani Osvaldo collapsed in the tunnel after being substituted by Luis Suarez following a collision with Barça defender David Villa.
The Portuguese midfielder then lay on the ground for several minutes before being rushed off.
His injury meant the Spain international was unavailable for the game, although he has not missed any time in his five-and-a-half-year spell with the La Liga side.
He has now scored more goals than any Barça player since his debut in 2003, with 14.
Ronaldinho, who has been on the radar of the big-money world for a long time, was also on the bench.
The 25-year-old, who scored 19 goals in his first season with the Catalans, has scored more than twice as many in his second campaign as well, with five goals.
In the first half, he made one mistake in the final third, allowing the Spanish side to go ahead through Diego Godin’s close-range finish.
Afterwards, he said: “We had a very good match against a very strong team.
I have not seen the final score, but I think we deserved to win.”
The result is a great result, a really good result.
“It’s a good result, as I expect it, a very important result for the team, Ronaldo added.
Barça’s win also lifted Sevilla back into the Champions group stages for the first game of the group stage.
The Sevilla forward scored twice in the first 45 minutes as Barça secured a point against Sevilla.
Roninho is currently fifth in the Ballon d’Or voting and the club will play in the group stages of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League.