Barcelona have dominated the Clasico – they have proved themselves the best team in La Liga

This season had already been memorable for Barcelona, but their display in the latest Clasico instantly made it one for the history books.

In the immediate aftermath of San Siro and Champions League heartbreak against Inter, Hansi Flick’s men pulled out another magical display, crammed with plenty of mistakes but, more significantly, a hefty dollop of greatness.

Barca beat Real Madrid for the fourth consecutive time this season, the most registered in a single campaign. They averaged four goals per game against their rivals, a record maintained with Sunday’s 4-3 success. Along the way, they have claimed the Copa del Rey at their opponents’ expense and effectively put La Liga to bed. This result left Barcelona with a seven-point margin at the top, with only nine points left to play for.

The title race is as good as run.

Numbers, however, do not adequately explain the contrasting moods around both Spanish giants.

Real Madrid, despite their erratic campaign, had managed to keep La Liga’s title race alive. At Montjuic, they led 2-0 early on and were never really out of the game, hauling themselves back to within one goal of rampant opponents in the second half and creating late chances to score an equaliser.

In the build-up to this Clasico, other issues would have been preoccupying Madrid as they contemplate the right moment to announce Carlo Ancelotti’s departure, or how Xabi Alonso or Trent Alexander-Arnold would potentially improve their team. In contrast, Barca were fully focused and relishing this occasion.

The way Montjuic erupted when Fermin Lopez scored what should have made the match safe at 5-3 — his effort was disallowed for handball — summed it all up.

Fermin, pursued by the rest of the team, ran to the stands and threw himself into the fans, who were already bellowing out their “campions, campions” chants. Barca, for all their flaws, had been running rings around Madrid for long periods of the game, leaving every fan on the edge of their seat.

“It’s not that fun to watch for me sometimes,” Flick joked in his post-match media duties when asked if his Barca side are the most entertaining in Europe.

This Clasico encapsulated all the states Flick’s Barca have shown this season, starting with the defensive high line and its flip side.

Pau Cubarsi was initially in the spotlight, playing Kylian Mbappe onside for Madrid’s first two goals. Wojciech Szczesny was far from brilliant, too. Over the last eight matches they have played in all competitions, Barca have conceded 18 goals.

“We know we have to improve a lot in defence,” admitted Flick. “But then you are playing against Real Madrid, who have great attacking players. Also, with the number of games we’ve had recently, it’s difficult to actually train and adjust things. But football is a game of mistakes and we hope that, next season, we can adjust things and make fewer errors.”

This was always a risk that Barca were going to take. Despite the four-point cushion in the league, their approach to this game was unaltered. Fortunately for them, the spirit of the ‘remontada’ (comeback) endures.

Once again, it was Lamine Yamal who led the comeback. He was too much for Fran Garcia, Madrid’s only available left-back for the fixture. The 17-year-old Yamal remains an endless source of creativity who steps up on every big occasion. He equalised at 2-2 with a trademark shot curled inside the far post that left Thibaut Courtois helpless.

The way Yamal is handling his rise does not cease to amaze. “We wanted to do this for our fans after the Champions League game,” he told the Spanish television channel Movistar after the match. “I think now they’ve forgotten about that, and we have, too.

“I told my mum this morning that there is a Champions League every year. We’ll keep going as long as we can to win it. It was very important to win this game, to get close to winning La Liga, and we are all very happy.”

Yamal was still the star of the show after the final whistle when he met former Barca player Thierry Henry in the dugout and exchanged their match jerseys.

He also met Travis Scott, the rapper and singer in Barcelona after his latest work was featured on Barca’s shirt for the Clasico courtesy of their sponsorship deal with Spotify. Yamal was among the footballers who attended the concert Scott performed on Saturday night in the city’s Opium venue.

Greatness meets the future. pic.twitter.com/JYUf6RQTfL

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 11, 2025

But Yamal was not Madrid’s only problem.

Raphinha hammered Lucas Vazquez down the other flank. He will never have Yamal’s natural talent, but Raphina’s physical prowess and off-the-ball work made the difference again on Sunday, as they have over the whole season. Barcelona’s fourth goal came after a relentless counter-press when the Brazilian stole the ball from Vazquez.

Behind them, there is Pedri, who offered another masterclass in midfield. He assisted Raphinha for Barcelona’s third goal and the scorer praised his supplier after the match. “In every game, Pedri ends up being our best player on the pitch,” he told Movistar.

“The mentality of my team is absolutely unbelievable,” added Flick when asked about Barca’s comeback. “This is the thing I am most proud of from all of them. It is honestly great to witness.”

The 60-year-old manager is probably right and the fighting spirit is the most representative trait within this group of players. But nothing defines the impact the German manager has had at this club better than the transformation certain individuals have enjoyed — and here we get into Eric Garcia territory.

Flick blocked Garcia’s departure to Como last January and has now turned the 24-year-old defender into the perfect squad player.

Garcia, playing in a right-back role he had barely performed before this season, did not merely shine defending against Madrid’s biggest star, Vinicius Junior. He also scored the hosts’ first goal from a corner, as he had against Inter in San Siro. He has five goals and two assists in all competitions. Garcia has played as a right-back, centre-back and holding midfielder this season and never put a foot wrong.

Less than a year ago, Garcia seemed to have no future at Barcelona. After this season, they can hardly afford to lose him. Flick has requested that the club tie him down to new terms as Garcia’s current contract expires in 2026.

That is one aspect of the work Barcelona have to do heading into next summer, but Sunday was all about embracing the present, enjoying their success and letting the world know, once again, that there has been no better team in La Liga than them this season.

(Top photo: Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)