Barcelona players lift the trophy after winning the Spanish La Liga soccer match against Real Madrid to clinch the Spanish league title in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Watched by its grieving coach, Barcelona won its second straight Spanish league title and twenty ninth overall with a cushty 2-0 win over Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday, adding to its rival’s troubled season.
Goals by Marcus Rashford within the ninth minute and Ferran Torres within the 18th gave Barcelona the victory and an insurmountable 14-point advantage over its fierce rival with three rounds remaining in La Liga.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was within the dugout for Sunday’s clasico following the death of his father, which Barcelona announced hours before kickoff. Players from each teams wore black armbands and there was a moment of silence before kickoff.
READ: Barcelona can clinch La Liga title with win, Real Madrid stumble
The league is 𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦 💙🏆❤️ pic.twitter.com/tRI9jlVOnr
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 10, 2026
A draw would even have been enough for the Catalan club to seal its third league title in 4 seasons.
Madrid, which stays probably the most successful club within the league with 36 trophies, is ending a second consecutive season with out a major title. Sunday’s defeat at Barcelona capped an embarrassing week for Madrid, marked by altercations between players in training that led the club to high-quality Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni 500,000 euros ($589,000) each.
Rashford opened the scoring for the hosts with a splendidly taken free kick, curling the ball over the wall and into the highest corner. Torres added to the lead from inside the world after a flick from Dani Olmo.
‘This is sort of a family’
Flick’s father reportedly died overnight. The coach celebrated Barcelona’s goals and looked emotional after the ultimate whistle.
“I’ll always remember at the present time. It was a troublesome day for me. It starts with this (news that) my father passed away, but here, my team is improbable,” Flick said. “I actually adore it, this is sort of a family they usually gave all the pieces today and I’m really proud. It’s amazing, on this stadium, and in addition within the clasico against Real Madrid, to win La Liga.”
There was a transient scuffle between players within the 51st minute after Olmo confronted a Madrid player. Olmo was shown a yellow card.
READ: Lamine Yamal channels LeBron, Neymar as Barcelona eyes comeback
Madrid’s Jude Bellingham had a goal disallowed for offside within the 63rd.
Brazil forward Raphinha replaced Rashford within the sixty fourth to return from a protracted injury layoff.
Barcelona has been playing the ultimate league games without the injured Lamine Yamal, its biggest star. Yamal was on the sector lifting the trophy along together with his teammates.
No Mbappé
Madrid was without the injured Kylian Mbappé, the league’s leading scorer with 24 goals. The France forward didn’t get better from a left-hamstring ailment that has kept him sidelined since late April.
Mbappé last week addressed a fresh wave of criticism of him in Spain, insisting he was fully committed to the club and to recovering from his latest injury. Some Madrid fans had expressed concern that the France forward was saving himself for the upcoming World Cup. He posted a story during Sunday’s game while it was being shown on a television, together with supporting words for the club and a white heart.
Madrid was also without Valverde, who hurt his head within the altercation with Tchouaméni after allegedly by chance knocking his head on a table. It was not the one altercation involving Madrid players during training last week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got right into a scuffle.
Arbeloa under fire
The loss in Sunday’s clasico is prone to increase criticism of coach Álvaro Arbeloa, who was promoted from Madrid’s reserve team when Xabi Alonso was fired in January. The rumors of a possible return of José Mourinho to the club were only prone to increase.
“There’s not loads we are able to say,” Arbeloa said. “We understand how frustrated and dissatisfied that the fans should be. The one thing we are able to do is figure and look to the longer term, learn from all the pieces that we have now done badly this yr. Real Madrid is at all times back, we have now fallen over and over and we have now risen over and over.”
Singer-songwriters Olivia Rodrigo and Nathy Peluso were among the many celebrities on the stadium. Rodrigo, an American multi-Grammy winner, had her logo appearing within the team’s jersey as a part of the club’s partnership with Spotify.
Barcelona this season also won the Spanish Super Cup. It has won 11 consecutive games within the league.
Concerns over Nico Williams
Spain forward Nico Williams needed to be substituted before halftime in Athletic Bilbao’s 1-0 loss to Valencia at home, prompting more concerns ahead of the World Cup.
Williams appeared to suffer a hamstring injury, and was replaced by brother Iñaki Williams within the thirty seventh minute.
Nico Williams had already been sidelined for several weeks earlier this yr due to one other injury.
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Athletic didn’t immediately release details about Sunday’s injury.
The 23-year-old forward has been an everyday in Spain’s squad, playing in attack together with Yamal.