Watched by its grieving coach, Barcelona retains Spanish league title by beating rival Real Madrid

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was in the dugout for Sunday’s clasico following the death of his father, which Barcelona announced hours before kickoff. Players from both teams wore black armbands and there was a moment of silence before kickoff.

A draw would also have been enough for the Catalan club to seal its third league title in four seasons.

Madrid, which remains the most successful club in the league with 36 trophies, is ending a second consecutive season without 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 fine Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni 500,000 euros ($589,000) each.

Rashford opened the scoring for the hosts with a wonderfully taken free kick, curling the ball over the wall and into the top corner. Torres added to the lead from inside the area after a flick from Dani Olmo.

‘This is like a family’

Flick’s father reportedly died overnight. The coach celebrated Barcelona’s goals and looked emotional after the final whistle.

“I will never forget this day. It was a tough day for me. It starts with this (news that) my father passed away, but here, my team is fantastic,” Flick said. “I really love it, this is like a family and they gave everything today and I’m really proud. It’s amazing, in this stadium, and also in the clasico against Real Madrid, to win La Liga.”

There was a brief scuffle between players in the 51st minute after Olmo confronted a Madrid player. Olmo was shown a yellow card.

Madrid’s Jude Bellingham had a goal disallowed for offside in the 63rd.

Brazil forward Raphinha replaced Rashford in the 64th to return from a long injury layoff.

Barcelona has been playing the final league games without the injured Lamine Yamal, its biggest star. Yamal was on the field lifting the trophy along with his teammates.

No Mbappé

Madrid was without the injured Kylian Mbappé, the league’s leading scorer with 24 goals. The France forward failed to recover 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, along with supporting words for the club and a white heart.

Madrid was also without Valverde, who hurt his head in the altercation with Tchouaméni after allegedly accidentally knocking his head on a table. It was not the only 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 into a scuffle.

Arbeloa under fire

The loss in Sunday’s clasico is likely 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 likely to increase.

“There's not a lot we can say," Arbeloa said. “We understand how frustrated and dissatisfied that the fans must be. The only thing we can do is work and look to the future, learn from everything that we have done badly this year. Real Madrid is always back, we have fallen many times and we have risen many times.”

Singer-songwriters Olivia Rodrigo and Nathy Peluso were among the celebrities at the stadium. Rodrigo, an American multi-Grammy winner, had her logo appearing in the team’s jersey as part of the club’s partnership with Spotify.

Barcelona this season also won the Spanish Super Cup. It has won 11 consecutive games in the league.

Concerns over Nico Williams

Spain forward Nico Williams had 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 in the 37th minute.

Nico Williams had already been sidelined for several weeks earlier this year because of another injury.

Athletic did not immediately release details about Sunday’s injury.

The 23-year-old forward has been a regular in Spain’s squad, playing in attack along with Yamal.

Other results

Also Sunday, Mallorca stayed two points clear of the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw at home against third-place Villarreal.

Last-place Real Oviedo moved closer to returning to the second division after a 0-0 draw with Getafe at home.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer