Barcelona defeat Real Madrid 2-0, clinch La Liga title at Camp Nou

Barcelona have officially won their 29th La Liga title after a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid at Camp Nou, opening up a 14-point lead with only three matches left in the season.

Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres scored in the first half, helping Hansi Flick's side retain the crown and leaving Real Madrid with a trophy-less season.

This is only the second time in La Liga history that an El Clasico result directly decided the championship. The previous occasion was in 1932, when Real Madrid—the record 36-time champions—won their first title after a draw with Barcelona.

Heading into the match, Barcelona needed only to avoid defeat to secure the title. With determination, the hosts took a two-goal lead from the 18th minute onwards.

Rashford opened the scoring with a stunning free kick from 20 meters. The English forward, on loan from Manchester United, curled the ball into the top left corner, leaving Thibaut Courtois no chance.

In the 18th minute, Ferran Torres doubled the lead. Receiving a clever backheel pass from Dani Olmo, Torres burst into the box and slotted the ball into the Madrid net, sending the 62,000 crowd at Camp Nou into raptures.

Real Madrid were without Kylian Mbappe due to injury. Midfielder Fede Valverde also missed out after a head injury sustained in a training ground altercation with Aurelien Tchouameni, who started the match.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick received sad news before the game when his father passed away. Despite this, the German manager led his team and said afterwards: 'It was a difficult day for me losing my father. But my players were fantastic, they are like a family. I will never forget today.'

Real Madrid nearly pulled one back when Gonzalo Garcia—Mbappe's replacement—missed by inches. But that was all the visitors could muster. Jude Bellingham had a goal disallowed for offside, and goalkeeper Joan Garcia made a fine save from Vinicius Junior.

Barcelona fans continuously taunted Vinicius by throwing inflatable balls onto the pitch, a reference to the Brazilian forward not having won the Ballon d'Or.

Coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who may leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, congratulated Barcelona and stated: 'We will learn from what happened this season and strive to improve. There are three games left, and we must win them all. Here, we are defending something bigger than ourselves—the Real Madrid badge and millions of fans.'

With this win, Barcelona still have a chance to reach 100 points in a season and could also achieve a perfect home record if they beat Real Betis in the remaining match.