In the end, Barcelona were just too good and Madrid just not good enough: not just here, in the clásico that effectively clinched the league title, but all season long. Hansi Flick’s young team have been wild and fun, and they are going to be double winners, La Liga taken the way they played out the season. Montjuic briefly held its breath and then celebrated in the sunshine, as they watched their side concede two inside 15 minutes, seemingly inviting a catastrophe, and still win. Because if Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick here, Barcelona scored more. Which is what they do.
Four times Barcelona have faced their rivals this season and four times they have beaten them, scoring 16 times. The first set up the league season, the second won them the Super Cup, the third took the Copa del Rey and the last, another portrait of the campaign for both sides, took Barcelona seven points clear with only nine in play. They trailed early, but goals from Eric García, Lamine Yamal and two for Raphinha saw them do it again, any ghosts from their European exit gone on another fearless afternoon, where the only strange thing was that Madrid were ever even in it – let alone within a goal until the end.
