Barcelona retains Spanish league title
Watched by its grieving coach, Barcelona won its second straight Spanish league title and 29th overall with a comfortable 2-0 win over Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday, adding to its rival’s troubled season.
Goals by Marcus Rashford in the ninth minute and Ferran Torres in the 18th gave Barcelona the victory and an insurmountable 14-point advantage over its fierce rival with three rounds remaining in La Liga.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was in the dugout for Sunday’s classico following the death of his father, which Barcelona announced hours before kick-off. Players from both teams wore black armbands and there was a moment of silence before kick-off.
A draw would also have been enough for the Catalan club to seal its third league title in four seasons.
Madrid, which remains the most successful club in the league with 36 trophies, is ending a second consecutive season without a major title. Sunday’s defeat at Barcelona capped an embarrassing week for Madrid, marked by altercations between players in training that led the club to fine Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni 500,000 euros ($589,000) each.
Rashford opened the scoring for the hosts with a wonderfully taken free kick, curling the ball over the wall and into the top corner. Torres added to the lead from inside the area after a flick from Dani Olmo.
‘This is like a family’: Flick’s father reportedly died overnight. The coach celebrated Barcelona’s goals and looked emotional after the final whistle.
“I will never forget this day. It was a tough day for me. It starts with this (news that) my father passed away, but here, my team is fantastic,” Flick said. “I really love it, this is like a family and they gave everything today and I’m really proud. It’s amazing, in this stadium, and also in the clasico against Real Madrid, to win La Liga.”
There was a brief scuffle between players in the 51st minute after Olmo confronted a Madrid player. Olmo was shown a yellow card.
Madrid’s Jude Bellingham had a goal disallowed for offside in the 63rd.
Brazil forward Raphinha replaced Rashford in the 64th to return from a long injury layoff.
Barcelona has been playing the final league games without the injured Lamine Yamal, its biggest star. Yamal was on the field lifting the trophy along with his teammates.
No Mbappe: Madrid was without the injured Kylian Mbappe, 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.
Mbappe last week addressed a fresh wave of criticism of him in Spain, insisting he was fully committed to the club and to recovering from his latest injury. Some Madrid fans had expressed concern that the France forward was saving himself for the upcoming World Cup. He posted a story during Sunday’s game while it was being shown on a television, along with supporting words for the club and a white heart.
Madrid was also without Valverde, who hurt his head in the altercation with Tchouameni after allegedly accidentally knocking his head on a table. It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training last week. Alvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rudiger got into a scuffle.
Arbeloa under fire: The loss in Sunday’s clasico is likely to increase criticism of coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who was promoted from Madrid’s reserve team when Xabi Alonso was fired in January. The rumors of a possible return of Jose Mourinho to the club were only likely to increase.
“There’s not a lot we can say,” Arbeloa said. “We understand how frustrated and dissatisfied that the fans must be. The only thing we can do is work and look to the future, learn from everything that we have done badly this year. Real Madrid is always back, we have fallen many times and we have risen many times.”
Singer-songwriters Olivia Rodrigo and Nathy Peluso were among the celebrities at the stadium. Rodrigo, an American multi-Grammy winner, had her logo appearing in the team’s jersey as part of the club’s partnership with Spotify.
Barcelona this season also won Spanish Super Cup. It has won 11 consecutive games in the league.
Concerns over Nico Williams: Spain forward Nico Williams had to be substituted before halftime in Athletic Bilbao’s 1-0 loss to Valencia at home, prompting more concerns ahead of the World Cup.
