Marcus Rashford scored a brilliant free-kick as Barcelona clinched back-to-back La Liga titles with a 2-0 win over arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Both goals came in the opening 18 minutes as Rashford’s stunning curling effort in the ninth minute was quickly followed by a second from Ferran Torres.
Jude Bellingham put the ball in the net for Real in the second half but it was ruled out for offside and the visitors were second best throughout the night.
Barca could have had more but Thibaut Courtois produced fine saves to deny Rashford and Torres.
El Clasico victory lifted Barca 14 points clear at the top of the table with just three games to play and they could yet finish the season with 100 points.
It was an emotional triumph for manager Hansi Flick after the passing of his father this weekend.
“I will never forget this day,” Flick told Premier Sports. “It was a tough day for me. My team were fantastic, I really love it, they are like a family.
“It was not easy. Real are a fantastic team, but we played really well, we scored goals in the right moments and we defended really well.”
Defeat continued a week of turmoil for Real Madrid, who remain without Kylian Mbappe as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Midfielders Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were each given hefty fines having been involved in a training ground bust-up that reportedly left the Uruguayan hospitalised.
PA
