FC Barcelone – Real Madrid

FC Barcelona remains the King of Spain. The Catalan giant clinched their 29th La Liga title on Sunday with a 2-0 victory in the Clasico against Real Madrid, further asserting their current dominance over their eternal rival, condemning them to a trophy-less season.

The celebration was complete on the Camp Nou pitch, which hosted a Clasico for the first time in three years (due to construction work). A draw theoretically would have been enough for the Catalans, leaders of La Liga with an 11-point lead – now 14 – to seal their second consecutive title and plunge their eternal Madrid rivals into an ongoing crisis. Hansi Flick’s men, mourning his father’s death just hours earlier but still present on the bench, settled the matter in less than twenty minutes, leaving no hope for the Merengues.

Real crisis deepens

In the absence of Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal, sidelined with hamstring issues, English winger Marcus Rashford ignited the Barcelona fireworks with a stunning free-kick into the top corner (1-0, 9′). Spanish forward Ferran Torres, once again preferred to Robert Lewandowski, extended the lead after a brilliant deflection by Dani Olmo (2-0, 19′).

It had a promising start under Xabi Alonso’s guidance, later replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa, who also struggled to find solutions against the fundamental problems of a poorly constructed “galactic” squad overly reliant on individual exploits to compete with Barcelona’s collective strength.

Aim for 100 points

Led by the unstoppable Kylian Mbappe, absent on Sunday due to a hamstring injury, Real Madrid even had a five-point lead over their eternal rivals after the first leg victory (2-1). However, the dynamics completely reversed afterward: the Merengues only collected 47 points out of 72, while Barcelona gathered 66.

The Blaugranas have nearly been flawless since their defeat at the Bernabeu in October, with 23 wins and only two losses, while the Merengues have faced multiple setbacks and significant defeats (against Celta Vigo, Getafe, Mallorca, Osasuna, and more). Barcelona will now aim for the symbolic 100-point mark in the final three matchdays, a feat achieved only twice before, by Real in 2011-12 and then by Barcelona themselves the following season.