Marcus Rashford scored a stunning free-kick as Barcelona beat rivals Real Madrid to seal their 29th La Liga title with three games remaining of the season.
The England forward put the hosts ahead before Ferran Torres got the second with a fine finish as Hansi Flick’s side cruised to victory in El Clásico at the Nou Camp.
Both players ran to their head coach when they scored after his father passed away over the weekend.
Barcelona are now seven titles behind record winners Real after claiming Spain’s top flight in back-to-back seasons.
They have gone on an 11-game winning run in La Liga to coast to the title and lead their rivals by an unassailable 14 points.
Barcelona’s imperious home form has helped them to the title, as this was their 18th victory from 18 games in front of their own fans.
On-loan Manchester United forward Rashford got them off to a perfect start when he whipped an early free-kick into the top corner past Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, whose faint touch could not keep the ball out.
A superb move in the 18th minute – with Dani Olmo’s clever flick setting up Torres to fire home – doubled their lead.
Aurelien Tchouameni started the game for Real days after he was involved in an altercation with team-mate Federico Valverde, who was concussed during the argument and missed the game.
Under-pressure Real manager Alvaro Arbeloa could not inspire his side, with Gonzalo Garcia failing to get one of their few chances on target in the first half.
Rashford had an opportunity for his second but was denied by a fine save by Courtois.
Vinicius Junior did get in on Barcelona’s goal in the second half but goalkeeper Joan Garcia closed him down.
Chants of “Championes, Championes” rang around the revamped Nou Camp as the clock ticked down to confirmation that the home side had retained their La Liga crown, with Robert Lewandowski coming close to making it 3-0 late on.
Rashford shines in Spain – but will he stay?
There remains doubt over whether Barcelona will take up their option to buy Rashford from United for a fee of £28m when his loan ends at the end of the season.
When asked about his future after the game, 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.”
This, however, was another performance for the Catalan club that suggests he has a lot to give Barcelona.
His free-kick was stunning and his 14th goal of an impressive season that has also produced 14 assists in all competitions across 47 appearances.
The fact he has started only 24 of those games could be a reason Barcelona are not guaranteed to trigger their option to buy, but the on-loan forward has certainly had a big impact in his first campaign in Spain.
Barcelona have scored in all 35 of their league games this season and Rashford has played a significant part in that.
He now has a La Liga winners’ medal – his first league title as a senior player – so from a personal perspective his decision to leave Manchester for Barcelona on loan last summer could not have gone much better.
Real need a lot of work
This was head coach Arbeloa’s first El Clasico as Real boss and could be his last as his future is uncertain amid Los Blancos’ disappointing season.
After a row between Tchouameni and Valverde in the dressing room, there is clearly some disharmony among the squad and whoever is in charge will need to fix that.
It hurts to lose any El Clásico, but to do so on the night when their fierce rivals secure back-to-back titles will only sharpen the focus on how far they are behind Barcelona.
Both sides have now won this fixture 106 times in 264 competitive meetings.
Real had just one shot on target across 90 minutes, the last time that happened in a league game was in February 2023.
The only show of fight came from Trent Alexander-Arnold when he shoved Raphinha late in the game but that was not the type of passion they needed and it served to only fire up the home crowd further.
There is a lot of work to be done to restore Real back to the top of Spanish football, where their great rivals currently reside.
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