By
SABC Sport
11th May 2026
Their latest league triumph was built on a flawless home campaign, with the victory marking Barcelona's 18th win from 18 league matches at the revamped Nou Camp this season.
There was an emotional edge to the celebrations as goalscorers Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres both sprinted to embrace head coach Hansi Flick after finding the net, following the death of Flick's father over the weekend.
Barcelona made the perfect start when on-loan Manchester United forward Rashford curled a superb early free-kick into the top corner beyond Thibaut Courtois. The Real Madrid goalkeeper managed to get a hand to the strike, but could not prevent it from flying in.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 18th minute through Torres after a slick attacking move orchestrated by Dani Olmo, whose clever flick created the opening for the Spaniard to finish clinically.
Real Madrid offered little in response despite the presence of Aurelien Tchouameni, who started only days after reportedly being involved in an altercation with team-mate Federico Valverde that left the Uruguayan concussed and unavailable for the clash.
Pressure continued to mount on Real manager Alvaro Arbeloa as his side struggled to create meaningful opportunities, with Gonzalo Garcia wasting one of their few first-half chances by failing to hit the target.
Rashford nearly added a second goal of his own before halftime, but Courtois produced an excellent save to keep Madrid in the contest.
Vinicius Junior threatened briefly after the break when he broke through on goal, only for Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia to react quickly and smother the opportunity.
As chants of "Championes, Championes" echoed around the Nou Camp, Robert Lewandowski almost added to the scoreline late on.
Flick, whose father had passed away earlier that day, was understandably emotional after the result.
"I will never forget this moment," he said. "It was a tough day, my father passed away but here the team was fantastic and I'm delighted. They gave everything. I'm very proud of my players.
"It's thrilling with the fans, in a Clasico, beating Real Madrid. It's amazing in this stadium...
"It was not easy. Everyone thought we could win, but Real Madrid are a fantastic team. We played really good, we defended very well, and we scored two great goals [in the right moment]."
An equally emotional Rashford hailed what was a perfect end to his season with Barcelona, with the potential of more to come.
"This is the perfect way I want it to end," he said. "I'm very happy, I just want to enjoy today. I live in the moment. At the end of the season we will see. I came here to win and we do this, so I'm very happy. It's an incredible feeling."
