Barcelona secured the La Liga championship with a commanding 2-0 win over arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Clásico. The Catalan side sealed their title defense with three games to spare, leaving Real Madrid, now 14 points behind in second place, trailing far behind. The victory was dedicated to Hansi Flick’s father, who passed away just hours before the match on Sunday. A moment of silence was observed before kickoff.
The reigning champions sit atop the table with 91 points after 35 matchdays—a feat achieved by only three other teams in La Liga history. Real Madrid remain second with 77 points. Marcus Rashford opened the scoring in the 9th minute with a stunning free kick from 17 meters into the left corner. Ferran Torres doubled the lead just nine minutes later, effectively paving the way for the title triumph.
Real Madrid, who have recently made headlines for off-field issues, were without star forward Kylian Mbappé due to a thigh injury. The Frenchman had only resumed training in recent days and was unavailable. Without their top scorer, the team, including German international Antonio Rüdiger, had no answer to Barcelona’s dominance.
A few hours before the final whistle, Barcelona announced the passing of Flick’s father. “FC Barcelona and the entire Blaugrana family wish to express our condolences to Hansi Flick on the death of his father. We share your pain and stand by you and your family in this difficult moment,” the club posted on social media.
Despite the emotional toll, Flick chose to manage the team from the sidelines. Both teams took to the Camp Nou pitch wearing black armbands. A minute of remembrance was held for Flick’s father before the match.
This is Barcelona’s 29th league title overall, and Flick’s fourth domestic league championship—he previously won the Bundesliga twice with Bayern Munich (2020, 2021) and now back-to-back La Liga titles with Barça. In contrast, Real Madrid, under coach Álvaro Arbeloa, will end this season without a trophy after parting ways with former Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso earlier in the campaign.
