Barcelona on the Verge of Winning Spanish League Title

BARCELONA, SUNDAY -- Barcelona did not take long to recover after being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League. As the door to the Champions League trophy closed, the door to winning La Liga opened wider.

The certainty was achieved thanks to a 4-3 victory over Real Madrid at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, on Sunday (11/5/2025) evening WIB. The path to the championship for the "Blaugrana" feels increasingly clear as they only need one more win to secure the trophy.

This victory allows Barca to extend their lead to seven points over Real, who are in second place in the standings. With three matches remaining in La Liga, it can be assured that Barca will become champions if they manage to secure another victory in the Catalan Derby against Espanyol next week.

"We are well aware that we must win on Thursday (against Espanyol)," said Barcelona's right winger, Lamine Yamal, after the match.

Barca has won two trophies this season under the guidance of coach Hansi Flick. The Spanish Super Cup was Flick's first trophy. Subsequently, Barca won the Copa del Rey a few weeks ago after defeating Real in the final.

Thanks to the same method, beating Real, Barca are now one step away from winning a third trophy under Flick.

Real were looking to disrupt Barca's path to silverware by winning a fourth Clasico of the season. That ambition was evident when striker Kylian Mbappe put Real two goals ahead in just 15 minutes. Mbappe's early penalty, coupled with his success in escaping the offside trap to score against Barca, left the stadium stunned.

After being beaten three times in a row in “El Clasico”, Real seemed to have figured out how to suppress Barca through Mbappe. Mbappe’s goals were inseparable from his skill in escaping the offside trap that has been continuously practiced in Real’s training sessions in recent days.

Mbappe tried to position his body behind Barca's two center backs, then ran as fast as he could when he received a direct pass from the midfield. This method turned out to be effective in tricking Barca's high defensive line.

In the previous “El Clasico” Mbappe could be caught offside up to eight times. Now, Mbappe has only been caught in Barca’s offside trap twice.

Ancelotti instructed Mbappe and Vinicius to be ready to receive vertical passes using the speed of the two players. Real's ball flow became more direct, not gradually building attacks from the back.

However, the momentum of the two-goal lead was ruined when Erick Garcia reduced Barca's deficit with a header.

Erick's goal led Barca towards a resurgence before halftime. Following Erick's momentum, Barca went on a rampage, scoring three additional goals through the actions of Yamal and Raphinha (two goals). The combination of these two wingers played a significant role in Barca's dominance over Real this season. Out of the 16 goals scored by Barca in four editions of "El Clasico," 11 of them were contributed by Raphinha and Yamal.

Three additional goals from Barca, scored by Raphinha and Yamal, stemmed from the lax defense of Real. The defenders of Real, commanded by Lucas Vazquez, easily lost possession of the ball and were not resilient under pressure.

"We made a lot of mistakes that led to the defeat," said Real coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Real's hopes of overcoming the deficit were raised when Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the 70th minute. However, it was too late for Real.

"We had chances to level the score at 4-4 twice. It was a tight game until the last minute," said Ancelotti.

With this result, Ancelotti's suffering is complete. He has not been able to present a single trophy. His record against Flick this season is also very poor, with no victories in four encounters.

Ancelotti is increasingly close to the exit door from Real. The Italian coach is rumored to be replaced by Xabi Alonso.

Meanwhile, Flick expressed great pride in the hard work of his players in this match. According to Flick, his team possesses a certain strength to bounce back after falling behind.

This tendency was also demonstrated by Barca when facing Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals. Barca nearly advanced to the final thanks to their ability to recover after initially falling behind, but ultimately lost due to a goal from Davide Frattesi in extra time.

"We have a great team around us. If you want to play in the style of Barcelona, you have to make good decisions. The substitutes who came on provided a very positive performance," said Flick. (REUTERS)