FC Barcelona became Spanish champions for the first time in a Clasico against Real Madrid and celebrated their second title in a row. In the 2-0 (2-0) home win, Blaugrana delivered an impressive performance and gave the royals no chance.
“Campeones, Campeones” echoed through the Camp Nou minutes before the final whistle. While coach Hansi Flick’s team delivered an impressive performance from the start, the White Ballet disappointed for long stretches of the game and is facing another titleless season. Things got particularly emotional before the game when there was a minute’s silence for Flick’s father, who died the day before.
The German didn’t want to miss the game under any circumstances and was able to celebrate for the first time after nine minutes when Marcus Rashford artfully curled a free kick into the far corner. In the 18th minute, Ferran Torres made it 2-0 after an assist from Dani Olmo and his heel. Overall, the Whites didn’t have enough to counteract the charged atmosphere in Barcelona, struggling too often with the inconspicuous refereeing team and their own proneness to errors.
Minute of silence for Flick’s deceased father
The Catalans’ first switchover moment (5th) immediately led to danger in front of the goal from the recovered Thibaut Courtois. Joao Cancelo sent a deep pass to Fermin Lopez, who tried to set up Marcus Rashford in the middle, but Fran Garcia was able to clear in front of the onrushing Englishman. Four minutes later, the Whites were collectively powerless when Rashford conjured a free kick from the right edge of the penalty area into the far corner.
The two goal scorers: Barcelona’s Ferran Torres (below) celebrates his goal with Marcus Rashford
In the stands, the injured Lamine Yamal celebrated his colleague’s stroke of genius just as loudly as the fans in the Camp Nou. And the spectators also saw a home team that dominated the game, while Real Madrid had a needed day after their recent escapades during the week. Blaugrana struck for the second time in the 18th minute when Dani Olmo skilfully laid off the ball and Ferran Torres finished coolly.
Barcelona shocks Real Madrid with early goals
In this initial phase, everything seemed to be going a little too quickly for Real Madrid against the “combination machine Barcelona”. The opportunity to secure the championship in a Clasico in front of a home crowd gave the home team additional energy that their counterparts lacked. The action of Eric Garcia, who was able to clear the ball before Vinicius Junior (24th), who was ready to shoot, was emblematic of this after a full sprint.
Just when Real Madrid seemed to be fighting its way into the game, Torres reestablished the balance of power with a perfect pass to Rashford. Courtois directed the ball out of the goal with his fingertips, but Barcelona showed that Flick’s team was closer to the third goal than Real was to a comeback.
Little hope for a comeback for the Royals
The Royals probably saw it that way too, because Antonio Rüdiger and Courtois looked pretty well served in the players’ tunnel before the start of the second half. Things didn’t get any better after the restart, as Barcelona continued to combine nimbly across the pitch. This caused frustration, which culminated in a pack formation and scuffle in the 51st minute, in which Olmo and Raul Asencio were shown yellow cards.
Hardly any chances: Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham is annoyed by his team’s performance
None of this changed the fact that Barcelona continually attacked the deep spaces and Real Madrid continued to find no solutions. Once again it was the visitors’ goalkeeper who had to save against the onrushing Torres. A set piece then also caused danger on the other side, Jude Bellingham (63′) scored in the follow-up, but the Englishman was offside.
Heated atmosphere in the final phase
Otherwise, the hosts were careful to control the game and let the guests do what they wanted without putting them under too much pressure. This didn’t dampen the mood of the fans, who had already been celebrating their team and their second championship title in a row in the stands. The frustration increasingly erupted in small scuffles, but referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez did not let this deter him and whistled the game with one minute of added time.
