Hansi Flick guided Barcelona to their 29th La Liga title on Sunday night, watching on as Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres put Real Madrid to the sword in a 2-0 El Clasico win – all while carrying the weight of his father’s passing, which he had learned about that same morning.
Rashford’s curling free-kick found the far top corner in the ninth minute, Torres doubled the lead nine minutes later, and Barcelona wrapped up back-to-back Spanish championships by opening up a 14-point lead with three games to play.
Before kick-off, players from both clubs wore black armbands in tribute to Flick’s father. A minute’s silence was observed. Then Barcelona went out and gave their manager the evening he will carry for the rest of his life.
“It’s been a tough day,” Flick said in his post-match news conference. “It started in the morning and, well, I’ll never forget this day. This morning, my mum called me and she said that my father passed away. And so I think: Should I hide it or should I speak with my team? Because for me, it’s like a family.
“And I said, ‘OK, I want to get the information also to the players.’ And what they are doing was unbelievable. I will never forget this moment. I want to say thank you to everyone, thank you for everything, thanks for really fighting. I really appreciate everything a lot. This is like a family.
“I have never felt so much love as today. It’s amazing.”
His players celebrated both goals by running to the touchline to embrace him. At full time, they threw him into the air.
Rashford: ‘If I was a magician, I would stay’
The night also belonged to Marcus Rashford, who scored the opening goal in the manner of someone making the very best case for his future at the club.
Torres was felled on the right edge of the area by Antonio Rudiger. Rashford placed the ball, looked up, and curled a stunning effort over the wall and into the far top corner. It was the first free-kick scored by a Barcelona player against Real Madrid since Lionel Messi in October 2012.
His loan deal from Manchester United expires this summer. Barcelona hold a €30 million option to buy. Rashford’s answer when asked about his future afterwards left little doubt about where he wants to be.
“I don’t know. I am not a magician, but if I was, I would stay. So we will see.”
He also spoke about the free-kick itself, admitting he was not certain he was going to shoot.
“No, I wasn’t going to shoot. I wasn’t going to shoot and then… because when I put the ball down I didn’t see the angles. I didn’t feel confident it was going to be a goal, so I was going to cross. But then everyone is telling me to shoot and then I hyped myself up a little bit. It was good I shot in the end as it was a good goal.”
The 28-year-old becomes the first Englishman to win the Spanish top-flight title in 41 years. He has scored 14 goals and registered 14 assists since joining on loan last summer, and while Manchester United have made clear they have no intention of reintegrating him into their squad.
On his time at the club overall, Rashford added: “It’s really good. I come here to win. So this is – I want to win as many things as I can. So, this is one more to add to this. Yeah, this team is a wonderful team. They’re going to win so much in the future as well. So, to be a part of that would be special. So we will see.”
Pedri: ‘We wanted to do it for Flick’
Pedri, voted man of the match, was also clear about the motivation behind Barcelona’s performance. The Spain international was seen dictating play in his usual fashion and setting up Torres for the second goal alongside Dani Olmo’s brilliant backheeled assist.
“This tastes like glory, we wanted to win it in El Clasico for history. We played a great game and now we have to celebrate, which you don’t get every day. We wanted to do it for Flick, for everything he has given us and for the loss he has had.”
Gavi also spoke after the final whistle, addressing his on-field exchanges with Real Madrid captain Vinicius Junior, with whom he clashed on several occasions throughout the game.
“I’ve told Vinicius to shut up. I’m a hot-headed player, so is he. But what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch. It’s football.”
De Jong, who came on as a second-half substitute, spoke with one eye firmly on the future.
“All titles are special, this one more because you win it at home against Madrid. Hansi is very important, he has very clear ideas and gives us a lot of freedom to show our quality.
“Every title you win has to be celebrated in style, and even more so La Liga. Of course we want to win the Champions League, that’s the objective and next year we’ll have a new opportunity.”
100 points & Champions League ambitions for next season
Flick himself was quick to look ahead even amid the emotion of the evening. Barcelona can yet finish the season with 100 points if they win their remaining three fixtures against Alaves, Real Betis and Valencia – a tally only Real Madrid in 2012 and Barcelona in 2013 have previously achieved.
“We want to reach 100 points. It’s still possible. This is the next goal. We want to give more for this club. We want to reach the next level. And I know everyone in Barcelona wants to win the Champions League. Hopefully, we can achieve this goal. This is always what I want, to fight for your dreams. I think we have more dreams. This is good for the next season.”
For Real Madrid, the misery goes on. A second consecutive season without a major trophy is confirmed. Jude Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in the second half in what amounted to a frustrating cameo that summed up a wretched campaign.
Manager Alvaro Arbeloa, who is widely expected to be replaced this summer, congratulated Barcelona and said his side would learn from what had happened. Jose Mourinho continues to be linked with a return to the Bernabeu.
