Barcelona secured their 29th Spanish league title with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday. The win gives the Catalan side an insurmountable 14-point advantage with three rounds remaining.
Marcus Rashford opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a brilliant free kick, curling the ball over the wall and into the top corner. Ferran Torres doubled the lead in the 18th minute, finishing from inside the area after a flick from Dani Olmo.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was in the dugout for the Clásico following the death of his father, which the club announced hours before kickoff. Players from both teams wore black armbands, and there was a moment of silence before the match.
A draw would have been enough for Barcelona to seal their third league title in four seasons.
Quote from Flick:
"I will never forget this day. It was a tough day for me. My father passed away, but my team is fantastic. I really love it—this is like a family and they gave everything today. I'm really proud to win La Liga at this stadium against Real Madrid."
In the 51st minute, a brief scuffle broke out after Olmo confronted a Madrid player. Olmo received a yellow card. Madrid's Jude Bellingham had a goal disallowed for offside in the 63rd minute.
Brazil forward Raphinha replaced Rashford in the 64th minute, returning from a long injury layoff. Barcelona played without the injured Lamine Yamal, who was on the field lifting the trophy with his teammates.
Real Madrid finished the season without a major title—a second consecutive campaigns without silverware. Madrid was missing the injured Kylian Mbappé, the league's leading scorer with 24 goals. The France forward failed to recover from a left hamstring ailment that has kept him sidelined since late April.
There was also controversy surrounding Madrid during the week. After an altercation between players in training, the club fined Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni 500,000 euros each. Valverde also sustained a head injury in the incident.
The defeat is likely to increase criticism of coach Álvaro Arbeloa, who was promoted from the reserve team in January when Xabi Alonso was fired.
Arbeloa said: "There's not a lot we can say. We understand how frustrated the fans must be. The only thing we can do is work and look to the future. Real Madrid has fallen many times and has risen many times."