Marcus Rashford seals title for Barcelona to complete week to forget for Real Madrid

This time it was Marcus Rashford who delivered the knockout blow. Three days after the fight between Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni that ended with Real Madrid’s vice captain taken to hospital and the crisis at the club laid painfully bare for all to see, they went to the Camp Nou and finally relinquished the league title they lost long ago. For the first time in 94 years a meeting of sport’s greatest rivals decided La Liga, 62,000 fans starting the party as goals from the Englishman and Ferran Torres took Hansi Flick’s team over the line with three games to spare.

For Madrid, at least it was over, nothing left to hold on to. They had avoided it happening last week by beating Espanyol, just across the city limits, sparing themselves from having to hand their rivals a guard of honour before the game but they knew they couldn’t avoid it for ever. Now all they could aspire to was preventing them from beginning the title party in their presence, but like so much else this campaign that was beyond them, and so a second successive season closes without a trophy, and on the worst possible stage.

Barcelona had taken the first step on the night early, the opening goal coming on just nine minutes and never looked back.

If this is to be just a one-year loan, what a way to sign off: with a clásico goal to win the championship. And what a goal, too. From the right edge of the Madrid area, Rashford stood over the ball. Before him, four men in the wall, another lying on the turf behind it, and, behind them, the best goalkeeper in the world. None of them could stop him, a superb free-kick flying in a long arc outwards and into the far corner. The Englishman raced towards the bench, pursued by his teammates. It was his 14th goal of this season in Spain; there have been 14 assists too.

Speaking of assists, the one that Dani Olmo provided for Barcelona to double the lead ten minutes later was gorgeous. Leaping to connect with the clipped ball into the Madrid box, he guided it, on the volley, through his legs to Torres. Alone near the penalty spot, Torres controlled and smashed it past Thibaut Courtois. The place went wild, smelling blood.

While this looked like it might get ugly for Madrid – if no more ugly than their week had already been – they did react while Barcelona’s front-footed approach meant there was a path to pursue too. So it was that Gonzalo García should have pulled one back when a Raúl Asencio ball in behind Pau Cubarsí set him clean through only for the shot to slip wide. A moment later, Jude Bellingham almost escaped to set up Vinícius Júnior.

Pedri sought to provide a little more control and when they did, the olés followed. Which didn’t mean Barcelona only played for playing’s sake. In fact, they were better this way. A sharp turn saw Torres drop deep and release Rashford up the right, and when Rashford is released no one can catch him – including his teammates. The fastest player in raced clear and while he could have laid it across to Fermín López, his teammate still had not quite arrived into position. Rashford struck hard, low, and just beyond the far post. Courtois’ touch had been decisive and from the corner, Olmo sliced wide.