Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid: Barça seal La Liga crown with a dominant El Clásico display

Barcelona were crowned LaLiga champions in style as early goals from Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres were enough to seal a 2-0 win over Real Madrid at Camp Nou.

Match Report 

Barca were 2-0 up within 18 minutes and never looked likely to surrender that lead as Madrid suffered the humiliation of allowing their Clasico rivals to become champions via a derby win for the first time ever, marking a fitting end to a dismal week for the club.

In addition to Kylian Mbappe being sidelined, Madrid were also without Federico Valverde after he suffered a head injury in a training-ground clash with Aurelien Tchouameni – though the Frenchman still started after the club opened disciplinary proceedings against him. 

And it only took nine minutes for the cracks in Alvaro Arbeloa's side to be exploited. After Antonio Rudiger brought down Torres on the edge of the box, Rashford whipped a tremendous free-kick into the top corner on Thibaut Courtois' side of the goal.

It was 2-0 soon afterwards, as Fermin Lopez's over-the-top pass was brilliantly laid off by Dani Olmo, granting Torres the chance to bury his finish past Courtois.

Gonzalo Garcia passed up a one-v-one chance for Madrid, who were also denied by a last-ditch intervention by Eric Garcia, though Rashford and Olmo both squandered opportunities to put Barca three up before half-time.

Tensions threatened to boil over early in the second half following a clash between Olmo and Raul Asencio, before Courtois made an excellent save with his left foot to deny Torres his brace. 

The offside flag quickly went up against Jude Bellingham when he brought down Brahim Diaz's dinked pass and fired home, and that was as close as Madrid ever came to forcing a nervous finish, with Barca's players celebrating wildly at the full-time whistle. 

It was an emotional triumph for Hansi Flick, who was in the Barca dugout despite his father passing away earlier on Sunday. 

Data Debrief: Famous triumph for Barca and Flick

This is just the second time in the storied history of El Clasico that the LaLiga title has been decided as a direct result of a meeting between Barca and Madrid.

It is the first time that has ever occurred in the Blaugrana's favour, as the previous instance, in 1932, saw Madrid edge out Athletic Bilbao for the crown courtesy of a draw with Barca.

It was not a game full of high-quality chances, as Barca generated 0.99 expected goals (xG) from 10 shots, compared to Madrid's 0.79 xG from eight attempts.

Having overseen Barca's 28th and 29th Spanish titles, Flick is the fourth coach to win LaLiga in each of his first two seasons in charge of the club this century, after Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde.

The Blaugrana's victory also means that, in 264 competitive Clasico matches, both teams have registered exactly 106 wins each, with 52 fixtures between them being drawn.

It is back to the drawing board for Madrid, who saw Jose Mourinho quash reports he had been in contact with the club over a sensational return on Sunday. They have lost three of their last six away LaLiga games, more defeats than they suffered in their previous 17 (two).

Match Events

9' GOAL! Rashford opens the scoring with a direct free-kick! Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid

18' GOAL! Ferran doubles the lead from Olmo's assist! Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid

Line-ups

Barcelona XI: Cancelo, Olmo, Rashford, Ferran Torres, Eric Garcia, Pedri, Joan García, Gavi, Fermín López, Gerard Martín, Cubarsi

Subs: Szczesny, Lewandowski, De Jong, Raphinha, Kounde, Araujo, Balde, Casado, Roony Bardghji, Bernal, Xavi Espart, Eder Aller

Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Rudiger, Alexander-Arnold, Brahim, Fran García, Tchouameni, Vinicius, Camavinga, Bellingham, Gonzalo García, Raúl Asencio

Subs: Alaba, Lunin, Álvaro Carreras, David Jiménez, Dean Huijsen, César Palacios, Sergio Mestre, Franco Mastantuono, Jorge Cestero, Thiago Pitarch