11th May 2026
May 11 – FC Barcelona sealed their 29th La Liga title with three matches left to play after a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in El Clásico at the weekend.
The damage was done inside the opening 20 minutes at the Camp Nou. Marcus Rashford blasted in a free-kick after nine minutes before Ferran Torres finished off a slick passing move shortly after to put Barcelona firmly in control.
Madrid never really responded. They managed just one shot on target all night as Hansi Flick’s side cruised through the second half with the stadium already in celebration mode long before full-time.
The title is Barcelona’s second in a row and continues a remarkable run of form domestically. They have now won 11 consecutive league games and could still finish on 100 points if they win their final three matches – numbers not seen in Spain since Barcelona’s 2012/13 side triumphed.
Beyond the result, the match highlighted how differently the two clubs are currently being built. Barcelona started nine Spanish players, with the academy core once again central to the side. Had Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde both been fully fit, Flick could easily have named an entirely Spanish lineup.
Madrid land their core of foreign players looked as disjointed on the pitch as they are chaotic away from it.
Los Blancos star Kylian Mbappé was absent after reports emerged he had been informed he would start on the bench, while Federico Valverde missed the game with concussion following a training-ground clash with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni earlier in the week that forced him to take a visit to hospital.
Mbappé has fallen increasingly out of favour with Real Madrid fans in recent weeks – prompting a petition calling for him to leave Real Madrid which amassed a huge 72 million signatures. That’s 25 million more than the population of Spain.
Madrid are now heading towards a second straight season without either a Champions League or La Liga title – a scenario that rarely survives long at the Bernabéu.
Jose Mourinho is reportedly set to return to Madrid to take over from Arbeloa come the end of the season in a move that could either mend the dressing room or add gasoline to the fire.
Barcelona, meanwhile, embraced the occasion fully. The club wore its special Olivia Rodrigo shirt sponsorship for the match, with the singer herself in attendance as chants of ‘Championes’ rolled around the stadium in the closing minutes.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [moc.l1778502718labto1778502718ofdlr1778502718owedi1778502718sni@g1778502718niwe.1778502718yrrah1778502718](javascript:;)