Marcus Rashford’s stunning free-kick opened the scoring before Ferran Torres added a second as Barcelona clinched the LaLiga title in front of bitter rivals Real Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou.
For the first time in nearly a century, LaLiga was decided by a Clásico with Barcelona, on this occasion, clinching their 29th league title.
It is a victory that rubs salt in the wounds of a trophy-less Real Madrid side, who have lived through a week of chaos behind the scenes.
Kylian Mbappe, who was absent on the night, was at the heart of internal tensions before a training ground bust-up between Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde made international news.
Tchouameni was controversially handed a start by Alvaro Arbeloa, with Valverde absent, but it was as though Madrid’s fighting spirit had been reserved for their training ground as they wilted under pressure from Barca who retained their LaLiga crown.
Rashford embodied Barcelona’s front-footed start as the hosts brought the party atmosphere.That atmosphere was mixed with a passion to dedicate the victory to Hansi Flick who Barca had announced had lost his father earlier on Sunday morning. The forward, on loan from Manchester United, stepped up and drilled his free-kick into the far corner to set the tone, beating Thibault Courtois at full stretch.
It was a rampant spell that saw Real struggle to find their bearings. With the away defence at sixes and sevens, Dani Olmo and Ferran took full advantage, combining superbly for their second.
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres celebrates his side’s second goal against Real Madrid
Before Real could even consider a fight back, Barca came close to a third on two occasions. The first saw Olmo nearly pick out Ferran with a cut back in the box with Real chasing shadows. The over-hit pass was just out of reach for the former Manchester City forward.
Rashford missed the chance to notch a second when he breezed past Fran Garcia to reach a through ball that had him one-on-one with Courtois, the England international dragged the effort wide as Real survived the onslaught.
The second half saw Real step up their efforts with Jude Bellingham at the heart of their improved display. The England midfielder very nearly cut the advantage when he got on the end of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s dinked pass to steer it home. However, the linesman’s flag was immediately raised.
Courtois was called upon to keep out second-half substitute Robert Lewandowski late on, but even an excellent goalkeeper display from the returning Real keeper wouldn’t have been enough to prevent the inevitable champions being coronated.
Mourinho: No contact over Real job
For Real it is a second straight season without a major honour, after also being dumped out of the Champions League and Copa del Rey. Interim boss Arbeloa is expected to depart in the summer and rumours linking former Los Blancos boss Jose Mourinho are continuing to swirl.
Reacting to the rumours, current Benfica head coach, Mourinho, said:
“I’ve had no contact with Real Madrid, none at all, and I won’t have any until after the final league match against Estoril either.
“Then there’s a one-week window, during which I’ll be free to speak to whoever I feel I should speak to, but all the stories that have been circulating – demands, meetings – are all speculation.”
Rashford reveals he wants to stay at Barcelona
Marcus Rashford’s sensational free-kick sent Barcelona on their way to their Clasico win
Rashford says if he were a “magician”, he would stay at Barcelona beyond his season-long loan from Manchester United after clinching LaLiga at Spotify Camp Nou.
Asked a direct question about whether he is going to stay at Barcelona, Rashford said:
“I don’t know, I’m not a magician but if I was, I would stay at Barcelona.
“We will see. Football is unpredictable but for now, I will just enjoy it, live in the moment and reassess at the end of the season and see what is possible.”
Did Rashford secure his dream permanent move to Barca with his Clasico heroics?
Sky Sports’ William Bitibiri at Spotify Nou Camp:
“Marcus Rashford’s future took another turn as he fired in a free-kick that helped Barcelona clinch a second straight LaLiga. For onlookers, they say Rashford struck a sensational knuckleball past Thibaut Courtois, but in his mind, he struck gold and potentially secured his future at his favoured club.
“Rashford made no secret of the fact that if he wasn’t at Manchester United, he’d like to be at Barcelona. So much so that he arguably settled for a six-month spell at Aston Villa, not to restore his opinion at United but to boost his appeal in Spain.
Rashford revealed after the game to press that he would like to stay at Barcelona
“His problem is that the Spanish club aren’t a financial superpower. It feels like for that reason, Barcelona were seemingly keen to opt against a permanent stay as per the current agreement with United.
“However, things may have just changed. Football is often a game of emotion, and Rashford captured that and if not more, with his goal and all-around display in El Clasico. Out on the right, where perhaps for United his visible frustrations in that position might have suggested he doesn’t want to play there. However, for Barca, it was as though they didn’t miss Lamine Yamal. The teenage prodigy was an afterthought as Barca were crowned champions because of Rashford’s display.
“It wasn’t just what he did going forward; there was a hunger in his play that helped him cover ground at pace and be a nuisance for both Fran Garcia and Vinicius Jr.
“Rashford is thriving where he’s not being asked to carry the burden. One can argue about which of United and Barcelona is the bigger club, but Rashford isn’t facing anywhere near the scrutiny he did during his time at Old Trafford.
“Take, for instance, Hansi Flick’s post-match press conference. Granted, they had just won the league, but with my English hat on, I was eager to hear what he had to say about the future of one of his goal scorers on the night. But not a single question was about Rashford. He was an afterthought.
“The environment at the Catalan club has allowed him to quietly contribute to 28 goals in 47 games and earn a first-ever league-winning medal. Not a bad return. The next question, though, is whether he will continue to play at the club.”
