Five key games in Barca’s 2024/25 dethroning of Real Madrid

Barcelona’s win at Espanyol on May 15 gave Hansi Flick’s side the La Liga title with two games to spare ahead of Real Madrid.

Los Blancos won the division by 10 points ahead of Barca last season but their faltering campaign was no match for the scintillating form of their most familiar rivals at the top of the table as Hansi Flick became a champion in his first season in Spain.

Madrid led the table and were five points ahead of third-placed Barcelona in February, but former Germany manager Flick will look back on a near-flawless domestic run since then, including victory over Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the Copa del Rey final.

101GreatGoals.com takes a look back at five of the best results in a memorable 2024/25 season for Barcelona on their way to a 28th Spanish title.

Barcelona are LALIGA Champions! 🔵🔴

Hansi Flick has delivered a domestic treble in his first season as manager of the club 🏆 pic.twitter.com/UYDAnGFfrX

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) May 15, 2025

Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona, October 26

Flick’s opening run of seven straight league wins came to an abrupt end with a 4-2 defeat at Osasuna on September 28, although emphatic victories over Alaves and Sevilla meant Barcelona were three points ahead of Madrid before the first Clasico of the campaign.

Madrid were on course to equal their opponents’ record of 44 unbeaten league games until Robert Lewandowski scored the first of two goals inside three minutes shortly after half-time.

Evergreen Lewandowski then hit the woodwork before Lamine Yamal – who will not be 18 until July – became the youngest ever scorer in El Clasico and Raphinha added his first goal in the fixture.

“It’s Real Madrid 0-2 Robert Lewandowski!” 🎙️

A massive couple of minutes for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona and their superstar striker 😱 pic.twitter.com/7fS6evN7Kx

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) October 26, 2024

Flick could scarcely have asked for a more magnificent statement of intent during a week when Barca had also thrashed Bayern Munich 4-1 at home in the Champions League with the help of a Raphinha hat-trick and Lewandowski goal.

“We played a fantastic game and I am so proud,” said Flick. “We pressed better with and without the ball. We had more possession and that’s why the game changed.

“The defensive effort was key. We have trained a lot on how to defend with a high line and on how we want to press on the ball.

“We are doing well. We are sticking to our idea and right now we are fluid and we want to move forward.”

Barcelona 7-1 Valencia, January 26

If Barcelona had bragging rights after that sensational result against Madrid, their almost immediate nosedive in form brought them back to earth in a style that would only have left Ancelotti’s players crowing.

A run of four defeats and two wins from eight games between November and January conclusively ended Flick’s honeymoon and led to questions about his adaptation to the rigours of a Spanish title challenge, including home losses to Las Palmas, Leganes and – in the 96th minute – Atletico Madrid.

After Barca drew 1-1 at Getafe on January 18 and Madrid thrashed Las Palmas a day later, Barca were level on points with fourth-placed Athletic Club, five behind second-placed Atleti and seven shy of Madrid, although they retained a better goal difference than the leaders.

Their goals tally was about to increase immensely courtesy of a much-needed 7-1 home hammering of Valencia featuring two goals and assists from Fermin Lopez.

Barcelona are on fire! 🔥

Raphinha nets his side’s third goal against Valencia after just thirteen minutes 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/c5KP6jqDRZ

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) January 26, 2025

“It was good to see the players could give us such a performance,” said Flick, acknowledging that their league position was “not the best”.

“We’re fighting until the end and we’re starting today. It was a great start. I like what I saw, and we also defended really well.”

Atletico Madrid 2-4 Barcelona, March 16

That mauling of Valencia was the first of six straight wins at the expense of a single goal in total, but an Atleti side with their own title ambitions looked to have ended Barcelona’s resurgence when they went 2-0 up in the 70th minute at the Metropolitano.

Lewandowski and Ferran Torres swiftly drew the away side level and, after Atleti had a chance to go ahead again, Yamal and Torres scored during added time to put Barcelona level on points with Real Madrid at the top of the table but with a game in hand.

“The reaction after the second Atletico goal was unbelievable,” said Flick. “To score four goals in 20 minutes here, against this team, is very good.

“I am proud of this team. The mentality is really good. They never give up. The reaction on the pitch was unbelievable. It was a great day for us.

“You can feel [the spirit] and see it in training. We want to train how we want to play. At the moment, we have huge confidence in the way we want to play.

“Atletico are a fantastic team. They defend well, but my team was the better team.”

Barcelona 4-3 Celta Vigo, April 19

Despite Madrid’s uncertain form, Barcelona did not have a sufficient cushion for comfort with the Clasico looming in their penultimate home game.

A 1-1 draw at home to high-flying Real Betis and an unconvincing 1-0 win at Leganes served as reminders that the title race was far from over before Celta Vigo threatened to end Barca’s 11-game unbeaten league run.

On-loan Betis forward Borja Iglesias replied to a Torres opener with a 48-minute hat-trick to put the hosts 3-1 ahead, although goals inside five minutes of each other by Dani Olmo and Raphinha made the scoreline 3-3 by the 69th minute.

Raphinha’s 98th-minute penalty decided the contest, leading Flick to reveal that he had asked the Brazil forward to be a “leader” at half-time.

“Just look at those scenes of celebration! You would think they won the title!” 🎙️

Raphinha with a last-minute winner to seal a 4-3 victory for Barcelona against Celta 🤯

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 @sbk | 18+ | 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 pic.twitter.com/9IbO2NmHES

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 19, 2025

“I hugged Raphinha because things weren’t going his way in the first half,” explained Flick. “I told him to think positively and in the second, it showed.

“We usually press very well, but we made mistakes. We made it very easy for the opponents. But the team did everything – we didn’t give up. That’s the mentality we have right now and it’s great.

“I don’t want to talk about the mistakes my players made. I think everyone can see that the team didn’t give up.”

Barcelona 4-3 Real Madrid

The final Clasico of the season was practically boom or bust for Madrid, who knew victory would move them a point behind Barcelona with three games remaining and defeat would all but hand their opponents the title.

Propelled by that incentive, Mbappe scored twice inside the first 15 minutes before more of that spirit Flick has so admired in his players turned the game around to give Barcelona a 4-2 half-time lead.

Eric Garcia, the relentlessly remarkable Yamal and two Raphinha goals did the near-decisive damage, ensuring Mbappe’s completion of his hat-trick from a second Vinicius Junior assist was merely a consolation for a Madrid team who must have sensed they were on the brink of deposition.

Flick completed a perfect season against Madrid, also beating them in the Supercopa final on January 12 and the Copa del Rey decider – after extra time – on April 26.

“I suffer a lot,” said Flick. “I hope we can do things better and make fewer errors. I don’t know if [I] was nervous at the end; there was a lot of emotion.

“It’s not always so fun, but I am very happy with what we do. We want to improve in every game and we have a lot of potential. The attitude of the team is fantastic.”