This time, it was Marcus Rashford who delivered the decisive strike. Just three days after an altercation between Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni left Real Madrid’s vice-captain hospitalized and exposed the club’s internal turmoil, they traveled to Camp Nou and finally, irrevocably surrendered a league they had long lost. For the first time in 94 years, a clásico decided the title, with 62,000 fans igniting celebrations as goals from the Englishman and Ferran Torres carried Hansi Flick’s side over the line with three matches to spare.
If “decided” is the appropriate term, for Madrid it is at least over now. They had delayed the inevitable last week by beating Espanyol just across the city limits, sparing themselves the humiliation of offering their rivals a guard of honor before this game, but they knew they could not avoid it forever. Their only hope was to prevent Barcelona from celebrating in their presence. Yet, like so much of this campaign, that proved beyond them, leaving a second consecutive season without a trophy and ending on the worst possible stage.
From Barcelona’s perspective, it was the perfect stage. Returning to Camp Nou, this marked the first title for 11 of their players and for coach Flick, whose father had passed away that morning. Flick, who has brought immense joy to the club, stood gazing up as fireworks lit the sky. “I will never forget this day; I am proud to have such a team,” he said. His team took the lead in the ninth minute and never looked back.
“La Liga champion, that sounds good,” Rashford said as the pitch filled with family and friends. His future remains uncertain, and at full time he avoided Torres’s calls for him to stay. For now, he insisted, he just wanted to savor the moment. If this turns out to be just a one-year loan, what a way to conclude it: with a clásico goal to clinch the championship. And what a goal it was.
Standing over the ball on the right edge of Madrid’s area, Rashford initially had no intention of shooting, but his teammates urged him on. In front of him were four men in the wall, with another lying on the turf behind them. Beyond them stood the best goalkeeper in the world. None could stop him as a superb free-kick arced into the far corner, sending the Englishman sprinting toward the bench in celebration. It was his 14th goal of the season, complementing 14 assists.
Speaking of assists, Dani Olmo’s setup for Barcelona to double the lead 10 minutes later was exquisite. Leaping to connect with Fermín López’s clipped delivery into the Madrid box, he volleyed the ball through his legs to Torres. Alone near the penalty spot, Torres controlled and smashed it past Thibaut Courtois. The stadium erupted, sensing blood.
Although it looked like it might turn ugly for Madrid—if it hadn’t already been a dreadful week—they did respond and compete. Gonzalo García should have pulled one back when a Raúl Asencio ball behind Pau Cubarsí set him clean through, only for his shot to slip wide.
Pedri appealed for control and then provided it. A sharp turn saw Torres drop deep and release Rashford up the right, and when he is released, no one can catch him—including his teammates. The fastest player in La Liga raced clear, and while he could have laid it across to López, his teammate had not quite arrived in position, so Rashford struck hard and low, just past the far post.