Rashford curls, Ferran flicks, and Barcelona seal back-to-back La Liga titles at Camp Nou
Barcelona did not need much against Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday night. They needed a draw to seal La Liga and they had it sewn up before the 20-minute mark. Marcus Rashford curled in a free-kick on nine minutes, Ferran Torres flicked home a second on 18, and the rest was a coronation. The 2-0 result delivered the club its 29th league title and a second in a row under Hansi Flick.
Rashford and Ferran settle it inside 20
Rashford struck first from a dead ball outside the area, a curling shot into the top corner. Nine minutes later Ferran finished from close range after Dani Olmo's backheel released him in the box. Barcelona had been the better side from the kick-off, and the early double meant Real Madrid spent more than an hour chasing a game that was already gone.
The visitors took the full 90 to find an answer that never came. They had patches of possession in the second half but never carved out the clear sight of goal they needed. By the end the home crowd were singing through every passage of Madrid play.
A title sealed with three games left
Barcelona went into the Clasico 11 points clear at the top with four rounds remaining. Even a draw would have done. The win takes the lead to 14 with three rounds still on the calendar, which is mathematically out of reach for everyone else. Flick's side has now won eleven league games in a row, the longest run of his tenure so far.
Back-to-back La Liga titles have not happened at this club since Luis Enrique's run in 2014/15 and 2015/16. Flick has now matched the feat in his second season in charge, with the Copa del Rey already in last season's cabinet and the Spanish Super Cup added at the King Abdullah Sports City in January.
Real Madrid, depleted and outclassed
Álvaro Arbeloa, who took the job in January after Xabi Alonso was sacked, sent out a side missing Federico Valverde and a handful of other senior names, including Rodrygo and Dani Carvajal. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Antonio Rüdiger started in defence, Camavinga and Tchouaméni held midfield, with Vinícius and Bellingham asked to carry the attack alongside Gonzalo García. None of it was enough at Camp Nou.
Madrid had nothing else left to win this season anyway. They went out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage in mid-April, beaten 6-4 on aggregate by Bayern Munich after losing the second leg 4-3 at the Allianz Arena. Three La Liga rounds remain, and they will be played as dead rubbers.
A title won under a heavy day
Flick stayed with the squad to take the match after the club announced the death of his father in the early hours of Sunday. The players wore black armbands, a minute of silence was held before kick-off, and the coach was visibly emotional at full time as his squad gathered around him. He was due to travel to Germany after the game to be with his family.
What comes next
Barcelona play out the rest of the season as champions, with three rounds and a trophy lift still on the calendar. Real Madrid head into a summer rebuild that already looked unavoidable nearly four weeks ago in Munich. The league is decided, and it was decided at Camp Nou by a couple of moments that took less than 20 minutes to land.
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