When can Barcelona win La Liga title? Barca inflict Clasico embarrassment on Real Madrid to lift trophy
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It's the most decorated, tempestuous and bitter historical rivalry in European football.
This weekend, Barcelona and Real Madrid reconvened for the latest installment of El Clasico.
The two La Liga giants bowed out of the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage this season and the battle for supremacy in Spain was more or less wrapped up with a few weeks to go too.
So, did this weekend's match at the Camp Nou — the first at Barcelona's renovated home for more than 1,000 days — occupy a special place in the unparalleled lore of this fixture?
MORE:Which club has won most La Liga titles?
When can Barcelona win La Liga title?
Barcelona have now won the La Liga title, coming at the expense of their rivals Real Madrid after a 2-0 Barcelona win at home.
Barcelona came into the game 11 points clear of Real Madrid in La Liga with four matches remaining, and the victory made it a 14-point gap at the top of the table.
Thus, with just three matches to go, there are only nine points left for Real Madrid to make up, which is not enough to make a comeback.
It is the first time in the history of this rivalry that a team has won the La Liga title on a Clasico result.
How Barcelona could win La Liga title in El Clasico
As long as Barcelona avoided defeat in El Clasico on Sunday, May 10, they were to be confirmed as champions of Spain. Although several Clasico showdowns have proved critical to the eventual destination of the title, this was the first time La Liga has been settled in a direct matchup between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Madrid could only keep the race mathematically alive with a victory over their old enemies, as they needed to win every match down the stretch of the season while Barcelona lost every game to even consider a comeback.
A win for Madrid in this Clasico would have cut the gap to eight points, with nine left to play for. It would have still been implausible for Barcelona to blow it from there, but they would then need two points from their remaining matches against Alaves, Real Betis and Valencia.
This is because Madrid won the season's first La Liga Clasico 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Therefore, if Madrid had won this weekend and ended the season level on points with Barca, they would have been champions by virtue of having a superior head-to-head record, which trumps goal difference in La Liga when teams finish level on points.
Regardless, Madrid needed to beat Barcelona this weekend and then win out through their final three fixtures against Real Oviedo, Sevilla and Athletic Club to have any shot, while hoping a Barca team that had won 29 of their 34 La Liga matches so far this season fail to win another one. It was beyond a long shot to begin with, and the chance has now evaporated completely.
Have Barcelona or Real Madrid won more La Liga titles?
This year's league championship for Barcelona was their 29th La Liga title in club history. Even so, they are still playing catch-up to Madrid historically.
Madrid's Jude Bellingham-inspired title triumph of 2023/24 was their 36th La Liga success.
MORE:Breaking down the all-time trophy head-to-head between Barca and Real Madrid