BARCELONA: Hours after the death of his father, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick led the Catalan giants to a second straight La Liga title with a Clasico win over rivals Real Madrid on Sunday and said it was a day he would “never” forget.

Flick’s Barca side earned a 2-0 win over Los Blancos and the coach said he was grateful to his team for their support and commitment.

Barcelona turned the Clasico into a coronation at a roaring Camp Nou to claim their 29th La Liga title.

Flick’s side moved to an unassailable 91 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real with three games remaining.

The triumph capped a dominant campaign in which they lost only four league matches. Villarreal are third on 69 points.

Real arrived needing victory to keep their wafer-thin title hopes alive but Marcus Rashford crushed those aspirations just nine minutes into the game.

Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres just outside the box and Rashford bent a superb free kick into Thibaut Courtois’ top-left corner, giving Barcelona the early lead and sending the home crowd into raptures.

Nine minutes later, Barcelona doubled the lead. Fermin Lopez crossed into the area and Dani Olmo produced a clever backheel that sent the ball into the path of Torres, who rifled a fierce strike into the top corner.

“I’m proud. I’ll never forget this day. Never. I’m happy about this (triumph) and the atmosphere in this stadium is unbelievable,” Flick told reporters.

The German coach said his mother called him in the morning to tell him that his father had died.

“This morning, my mum called me and she said that my father passed away. And so I thought about (whether) I should hide it, or should I speak with my team? Because for me it’s like a family,” explained Flick.

“And I said, okay, I want to get the information to the players. And what they did (then) was unbelievable. I will never forget this moment.

“I’m really happy and really proud about everyone. Every player in the team. My staff around as well, and the club.”

Flick, who was tossed into the air by his players in celebration at full-time, said he had “never” felt so much love in a stadium as on this day.

The coach said his team were still hoping to match the record of 100 points in a La Liga season in their final three league matches, and their big goal for next season was to end their 11-year wait for the Champions League.

Spanish media have reported Flick will extend his contract, which expires in 2027, by a year.

“I’m feeling in the right place, at the right time, and I think we all want to continue, and we want to give more for this club,” added Flick.

Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa said his club needs to work together better as a unit rather than as a collection of individuals.

“We need to collectively take a step forward, to have a much clearer idea of what it is we want to do,” Arbeloa told reporters.

“To put the collective before the individual, because, beyond talent, we always need to have a clear idea, and for me this is the start.

“Above all, we have to learn that we dropped a lot of points against teams and in games where we shouldn’t have.”

Real were missing Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Arda Guler and Rodrygo due to injuries.

Federico Valverde also missed out after suffering a head injury following a midweek changing-room fight with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, with both players fined 500,000 euros over the incident.

Kylian Mbappe did not travel because of a leg muscle injury, forcing Arbeloa to start Vinicius Jr alongside academy striker Gonzalo, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz pushing forward in support.

After signing Mbappe in the summer of 2024, Real have lacked balance. Real’s top goalscorer Mbappe was unable to play against Barcelona because of a thigh injury. The France captain drew criticism after going on holiday to Sardinia during his recovery process.

“I would have liked that he was 100 percent and that he was able to play, that’s what I would have liked,” said Arbeloa.

Earlier on Sunday, Umar Sadiq’s second-half goal helped Valencia win 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao.

Los Che are not safe yet but moved five points clear of the drop zone with 42 points with three matches remaining.

Half of the clubs in La Liga are still sweating on surviving one of the tightest relegation scraps in recent times.

While bottom club Real Oviedo are all but down and out, Levante in 19th spot and 10th-placed Osasuna are separated by six points ahead of a round of crucial midweek fixtures.

Historically, the survival line in La Liga falls in the high 30s, with 40 points generally enough to stay up. However, 40 points looks unlikely to be enough in what is the most intense relegation battle amongst Europe’s top leagues.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026