FC Barcelona paint Spain "Blaugrana": Catalan giants win their 29th La Liga title in El Clásico

FC Barcelona defeated fierce rivals Real Madrid to win their 29th La Liga in front of their fans. (Image credits – Heute; licence details). 

FC Barcelona beat arch-nemesis Real Madrid in Sunday's El Clasico and increased the gap at the top to an unassailable 14-point lead, clinching the La Liga title in an El Clasico for the first time ever. Goals from Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres were enough to seal all three points for Hansi Flick’s side.

Real Madrid are going through turmoil right now, and things worsened just a few days prior to the big game. Not only was Kylian Mbappé sidelined, but also Federico Valverde, who is the engine of the Los Blancos midfield, due to a head injury he received from an altercation with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni. There were several cracks within the teammates ahead of this game, and it was visible in the match.

Barça needed just nine minutes to open the scoring. Following a foul on Ferran Torres, the home side was awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Marcus Rashford, who is on loan from Manchester United, hit a tremendous strike into the top corner which went beyond the outstretched hands of Thibaut Courtois. Hansi Flick's side was 2-0 up in just eighteen minutes after Dani Olmo laid off a sensational backheel pass to Ferran Torres, who finished it with precision.

After Madrid conceded the second goal, it was all Barcelona in the game. It seemed that the visitors would be completely humiliated, which would add more salt to their wounds. Rashford and Torres had brilliant chances to put Barça 4-0 up, but they squandered those opportunities. Gonzalo Garcia came close to scoring from a 1v1, but his shot smashed the side netting. 

Late in the game, the Real Madrid players lost their cool, and it led to a clash between Dani Olmo, Gavi, Raphinha, Raul Asencio, Vinicius Jr and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Catalans defended brilliantly in the final few minutes and clinched a huge win. It was an emotional victory dedicated to Hansi Flick by the players, as the German boss lost his father earlier on the same day.

This result was a historical one for FC Barcelona, as this was just the second time in the history of El Clasico when the title has been decided by the result of the two giants locking horns against each other. Last time it happened was in 1932 when Real Madrid emerged champions as they leapfrogged Athletic Bilbao after drawing the El Clásico against their arch nemesis.

Hansi Flick's side weren't at their best, and they had plenty of big names missing from the starting lineup, like Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski, the trip which has tormented Europe in the last few years. Barça generated just 0.99 expected goals (xG) from 10 shots, while Real Madrid generated 0.79 expected goals (xG) from 8 shots.

Hansi Flick also became the fourth coach in the history of the club to win La Liga in his first two seasons as coach, after Ernesto Valverde, Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola. Barca have also levelled the number of wins in head-to-head clashes against Real Madrid, as both teams now have 106 games each and have drawn 52 times in 264 games.

FC Barcelona celebrated their La Liga and Spanish Super Cup triumph in an open-roof bus parade on Monday. Lamine Yamal was seen celebrating while holding a shirt that said, "Thank God I’m not a Madridista.” Robert Lewandowski and Szczesny were dancing together on the frontal roof of the bus, and the scenes were beautiful across the city of Barcelona.

Yamal spoke to the club's press during the celebrations, as he loved the celebrations with the fans. 

“It’s incredible. The fans are always with us, on the important days and also on the less important ones. This is the club of our lives. We’ll always be here for them,” said Yamal. (sic)

“We love them. We have to value every title and every year that we win because it’s not easy. We’ve gone through some very difficult years, but now we’re enjoying ourselves a lot.” (sic)

He added, “You think it’s a Monday; people in Barcelona have work, but they’re still here with us. A Champions League parade? Definitely yes. My parents taught me that a man always keeps his word… and we’ll bring it back to Barcelona.” (sic)