Earthquake at the Palau. If the first and glorious stage of Xavi Pascual (Gavà, 1972) at Barça lasted eight years, the second will barely reach eight months. The coach made the decision this Sunday to leave the club at the end of the current season, fed up with the lack of demand he detects in the entity and the numerous unfulfilled promises by the section leaders and the board. His destination will be the Middle East, specifically an exciting project like Dubai Basketball, already established as one of the teams in the EuroLeague, which guarantees him the financial muscle necessary to tackle more ambitious goals than those currently managed by the team of his heart.

The tragedy has hovered over the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the MotoGP race. Àlex Márquez suffered a brutal accident halfway through the race (lap 12 of 24) when his Ducati collided with Pedro Acosta’s KTM as they were fighting for the lead. The rider from Cervera went off into the gravel, fell violently, and narrowly avoided being hit by his bike and crashing into the wall before turn 10.

After the results of the penultimate matchday, five teams will fight next Saturday to avoid the last two relegation spots. The teams that will fight to stay up are Levante, Osasuna, and Elche (42 points), Girona (40), and Mallorca (39). On the other hand, Alavés and Sevilla, along with Espanyol, have secured their safety.

When you leave your homework until the second to last day and the teacher who checks it is Diego Pablo Simeone and his Atlético de Madrid in Antoine Griezmann’s farewell to his fans, you can end up getting your fingers caught. That is what happened this Sunday to Girona, who added their seventh match without winning in a streak that brings them closer to the brink of the Second Division. Girona is forced to win next week against Elche at Montilivi if they want to be in the First Division next season.

The season was clearly pointing towards Europe before the endless suffering with a record negative streak. But in the end, Espanyol can breathe a sigh of relief. The blanquiazul team secured their stay after winning in Pamplona. The goals from Carlos Romero and Kike García ensured that Manolo González’s team remains in the First Division without having to wait for a nerve-wracking final matchday. The future will be seen, with Monchi accompanying the team at El Sadar as the new sporting director. But the present indicates that the blanquiazul fans will be able to watch the Espanyol-Real Sociedad match on Saturday with peace of mind.

There are stages that end on a high note because they deserve it. There are journey endings that leave the heart full and the mind at peace. And there are goodbyes that perfectly summarize a cycle. Lewandowski had all of that, a forward of an era who gave four magnificent years to Barcelona. And Barça also achieved everything, putting the finishing touch on the league they won by becoming the first team to win all home matches in a 20-team league. The blaugrana went a perfect 19 with their victory over Betis.

Àlex Márquez will undergo surgery this Sunday after his brutal accident at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, after he was thrown through the air in the Catalunya GP race.