As expected, Barcelona take home their 29th top flight title after a thumping victory at home last night. El Clasico returns to Spotify Camp Nou in emphatic style, Rashford and Ferran Torres the difference in a fiercely anticipated fixture.
Marcus Rashford, MBE, gave Hansi Flick’s side the advantage with a sumptuous free-kick into the top corner, Ferran Torres latched onto a creative flick from Olmo to double their lead.
Barcelona came into last night, only requiring a point to confirm the league title, this is the first time they have managed to win the title in a derby match.
For the second season running, Hansi Flick coached a title winning side, stretching their lead at the top of the table to 14 points clear of their pursuers, and confirming the league title. With three games to play and Real Madrid in internal turmoil, the lead makes it impossible to catch them.
Barcelona have now won three league titles in the last four seasons, winning in 2022/23 as well as the last two seasons. In Flick’s first season, he lead his side to Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana titles to complete a domestic treble in his debut.
The Culer’s cumulative final third football out the blocks ensured an early lead, being 2-0 up within 20 minutes. Rashford missed a chance to put his side 3-0, with Courtois equal to a good effort on goal.
The second half saw a change of tempo, Bellingham scoring to add to his second-half display. The former-Birmingham midfielder redirected Trent Alexander-Arnold’s chipped pass to steer it past Garcia in net, but the linesman ruled him offside.
Lewandowski replaced goalscorer Torres, and had a late effort on his weak-foot matched by Courtois. His return from injury perhaps saving Madrid from an embarrassing scoreline.
Alarm bells continue to ring for Los Blancos, it is a second straight season without a trophy, having already been dispatched from the Champions League and Copa de Rey to Bayern Munich and Albacete respectively.
Interim head coach, Alvaro Arbeloa is expected to forfeit his duties come the end of the season, and rumours are milling around Benfica head coach Jose Mourinho are linking a ceremonial return to Spain.
The blockbuster ex-Blancos manager reacted to the news saying: “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.”
Whoever takes on the role, faces the tough task of dealing with inflated egos, dressing room punch ups and a lack of trust throughout the squad. Xabi Alonso was believed to blame ‘player power’ as one of the reasons his stint in the hot seat did not go as planned.
This comes after a week of apparent bust ups between Tchouameni, who was controversially named in the starting eleven, and Valverde. Leaks from the dressing room also speculate Rudiger and Carreras had an altercation previously, and the players are growing in frustration towards top goalscorer, Kylian Mbappe. The French forward missed the game yesterday through injury.
The Balungura on the other hand, celebrate their second successive league title, despite star player Lamine Yamal watching from the stands out through injury.
Marcus Rashford in a post-game interview insisted he would love to stay in Spain, and if he was a “magician” he would make sure of it.
Speaking about his future, he 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.”
With La Liga confirmed, Barcelona can begin planning on next season, and the stalling negotiations with Manchester United around the transfer fee can be worked out in that period.