FC Barcelona players celebrate with Robert Lewandowski in his final home game, on May 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Spanish champion Barcelona capped a perfect season at home — 19 wins in 19 La Liga matches — with a 3-1 victory over Real Betis on Sunday (May 17, 2026) as Robert Lewandowski bid an emotional farewell to Camp Nou.
Barcelona announced Saturday (May 16, 2026) that the 37-year-old Lewandowski was leaving after four seasons.
Antoine Griezmann also said goodbye to Atletico Madrid’s fans at the Metropolitano stadium before he moves to the United States to play in Major League Soccer. Atletico beat Girona 1-0.
Two goals by Raphinha and one by Joao Cancelo kept Barcelona perfect at home in the Spanish league. The Catalan club had already clinched its second straight league title two rounds ago.
There is one round of matches left.
Lewandowski helped Barcelona win three Spanish league titles in four seasons, including this campaign, and one Copa del Rey, while scoring an impressive 119 goals in 192 appearances.
It was an emotional farewell for the Poland striker, who, after the match, was thrown into the air by his teammates. They also lined up and applauded Lewandowski as he went toward the locker room.
“It has been an honour to play for this club,” Lewandowski said. “We’ve enjoyed some great moments in these four years. I am very proud of everything we have achieved together. Today I say goodbye, but I will always carry Barcelona in my heart. Thank you so much, fans. Once a Barca fan, always a Barca fan.”
Griezmann’s goodbye
Griezmann is Atletico’s all-time leading scorer.
The French forward apologised again to fans on Sunday for having left Atletico to play for rival Barcelona.
“I didn’t realise how much I loved you here. I was very young. I made a mistake, I reconsidered, and we did everything we could to come back and enjoy it again,” he said.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone praised the 35-year-old Griezmann.
“Griezmann is possibly the best one to have ever played here,” Simeone said. “He’s an extraordinary guy, a genius. He’s the most game-changing player that we’ve coached here.”
Mbappe starts, Sevilla loses but survives
Sevilla avoided relegation despite a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid at home.
Vinicius Junior scored for Madrid, which had already sealed second place.
Kylian Mbappe started for Madrid three days after saying coach Alvaro Arbeloa had made him the team’s fourth-choice striker. He came off the bench in the win at Oviedo on Thursday in what was his return from an injury layoff.
It was a tight relegation fight coming into Sunday’s matches, and Sevilla secured its salvation thanks to other results. Alaves also guaranteed more top-tier soccer next season with a 1-0 win at already relegated Oviedo.
Five teams will enter next weekend’s final round looking to avoid the drop: Levante, Osasuna, Elche, Girona and Mallorca.
Levante moved closer to safety with a 2-0 win over Mallorca and is 15th with 42 points, the same number of points as 16th-place Osasuna and 17th-place Elche.
Osasuna lost 2-1 to Espanyol at home, while Elche beat 10-man Getafe 1-0.
Inside the relegation zone are 17th-place Girona (40 points), second-to-last Mallorca (39) and Oviedo (29).
Published – May 19, 2026 03:24 am IST
