Marcus Rashford expressed his delight after scoring in Barcelona's 2-0 victory over Real Madrid, a result that secured the La Liga title for the Catalan club. The forward, on loan from Manchester United, described the moment as "the perfect way to end" the season.
Rashford's Impact in El Clasico
Rashford opened the scoring with a brilliant early free-kick, and Ferran Torres added a second after 18 minutes. Jude Bellingham had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half, as Barcelona dominated their arch-rivals. Thibaut Courtois made fine saves to deny Rashford and Torres, preventing a heavier defeat for Real Madrid.
Future Uncertain Despite Success
The 28-year-old joined Barcelona last summer after falling out of favour under former Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim. With Michael Carrick now in charge at Old Trafford and set to be appointed permanently after securing Champions League football, Rashford declined to commit his future to the Red Devils. Speaking to ESPN, he said: "This is the perfect way I want it to end. I'm very happy, I just want to enjoy today. I live in the moment. At the end of the season we will see." He added: "I came here to win and we do this so I'm very happy. It's an incredible feeling. Over the season we deserved it, we were the best team. We had some bad moments but we always come back and fight to improve."
La Liga Title Race Decided
The victory lifted Barcelona 14 points clear at the top of the table with just three games remaining. They could finish the season with 100 points. Elsewhere in La Liga, third-placed Villarreal were held to a 1-1 draw at Mallorca, while Athletic Bilbao's European hopes suffered a blow with a 1-0 home defeat to Valencia. Bottom side Real Oviedo's goalless draw with Getafe all but confirmed their relegation.
European Football Roundup
In Serie A, AC Milan's 3-2 defeat at home to Atalanta threw the race for Champions League places wide open. Roma joined fourth-placed Milan on 67 points after a dramatic 3-2 win over Parma, with Donyell Malen scoring twice, including a stoppage-time penalty. Cesc Fabregas' Como secured European football for the first time in their history after a 1-0 win at Verona. Jamie Vardy's first goal since January boosted Cremonese's survival hopes as they beat nine-man Pisa 3-0.
In Ligue 1, Desire Doue came off the bench to score the only goal as Paris St Germain edged closer to their 12th title in 14 seasons with a 1-0 win over Brest. PSG are six points clear of Lens with two matches left, and their superior goal difference makes them all but champions. Lille moved into third with a 1-0 win at Monaco, while Lyon lost 2-1 at Toulouse.
In the Bundesliga, Heidenheim gave themselves a chance of avoiding automatic relegation with a 3-1 win over Koln, setting up a final-day survival battle.
