El Clasico serves as season finale for Barcelona and Real Madrid | OneFootball

There are only a couple of weeks left in the 2024/25 season, but there are still plenty of things that have yet to be decided.

The Scudetto race is going down to the wire – after Napoli’s 2-2 draw to Genoa, the Partenopei currently sit one point clear of defending champions Inter Milan with two matches left.

So too is the race for the Eredivisie title – having taken just one point from their last three matches, Ajax find themselves just one point above PSV Eindhoven with two matches remaining.

And in Portugal, Benfica’s 1-1 draw with Sporting CP means the latter will enter the final day level on 79 points but slightly ahead on goal differential, whilst Benfica will travel to Braga, and Sporting will host Vitoria SC.

But whilst the title races in Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands are tey to be decided, other leagues have already been determined with plenty of time in advance.

Bayern Munich have reclaimed their rightful position atop the totem pole of German football, Paris Saint-Germain have secured their fourth straight Ligue 1 championship, and Liverpool have put an end to Manchester City’s dominance by winning the Premier League.

And over in Spain, Barcelona took a massive step towards securing the LaLiga title after beating Real Madrid in the 261st iteration of El Clasico.

Since taking charge of Barcelona on May 29, 2024, Hansi Flick has presided over four Clasicos, the first of which saw Barça win 4-0 in league play via second-half goals from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal as well as a brace from Robert Lewandowski.

Three months later, the two European giants faced off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with Madrid eyeing their third trophy of the campaign.

But despite taking the lead within five minutes via Kylian Mbappe, and despite playing with an extra man for the final 40 minutes, Madrid fell to a 5-2 defeat in the Spanish Super Cup.

Three months after that, Barcelona triumphed 3-2 against Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey Final, before following that up with a 3-3 draw versus Inter and a 2-1 win at Real Valladolid.

The Blaugranas looked set for their first Champions League Final in a decade until the 93rd minute as Francesco Acerbi equalised for Inter.

In the 99th minute, substitutes Mehdi Taremi and Davide Frattesi combined for the go-ahead goal as Inter returned to the biggest match in club football for the second time in three years.

At first, it seemed that the heartbreaking defeat and quick turnaround had taken its toll on Barcelona, with Mbappe taking advantage of a defensive lapse from Pau Cubarsi and forcing Wojciech Szczęsny into hacking him down in the box.

After opening the scoring from the penalty spot, the French striker doubled the lead after 14 minutes, after receiving a through ball from Vinicius Junior and confidently slotting into the back of the net.

It seemed that Barcelona were heading for their first domestic defeat since December 21, and it seemed that the title race was starting to turn in Real Madrid’s favour.

A victory would have put them on 78 points in contrast to Barcelona’s 79, in addition to having a far more accommodating run-in.

However, Barcelona roared back immediately as Ferran Torres deftly nodded Dani Olmo’s corner kick back into the path of Eric Garcia, who scored for the second straight match.

Deputising for the unfit Lewandowski, Torres made himself a nuisance throughout and conjured up the equaliser after taking a touch, occupying Raul Asencio and Fran Garcia, before dishing it off to Yamal.

Like Steph Curry lining up for a half-court three-pointer, you’d question the audacity to take such a low-percentage shot – until realising that we’re not talking about some average Joe, but a once-in-a-generation talent.

Yamal needed just half a second to prepare and fire in a wondrous left-footed strike into the bottom left corner.

Madrid barely had a second to breathe before Barcelona capitalised on a mix-up between Mbappe and Dani Ceballos, with Pedri threading a pass towards Raphinha, who made no mistake with the finish.

Barcelona looked set to double the lead after Yamal carved out a trivela cross towards Raphinha, who headed over from close range.

The Brazilian made amends before half-time, robbing Lucas Vazquez of the ball, combining with Torres, and putting Barcelona two goals ahead.

Madrid took advantage of Barcelona’s high line and pulled one back in the 70th minute, but they were unable to equalise as Flick’s side prevailed with the victory at home.

With just three matches remaining, Barcelona are seven points clear of Madrid and are all but guaranteed to win their 28th Spanish championship.

For Madrid, the inquest has begun. Despite boasting a plethora of individual superstars such as Vinicius, Jude Bellingham and Mbappe, they have failed to build on their momentum following last season’s Champions League and La Liga double.

Signing a new midfielder to replace Toni Kroos is a priority this summer. Defensive reinforcements are also needed, while questions need to be asked about Mbappe’s role in the team.

However, one person who won’t face scrutiny is Carlo Ancelotti. He is set to take over the Brazilian national team in what will be the first international role of his illustrious career.