El Clásico deciders: how many times has Barcelona won LaLiga against Real Madrid?

El Clásico this Sunday at Spotify Camp Nou is absolutely special. Hansi Flick’s Barcelona have the chance to be crowned LaLiga champions in a direct clash against their eternal rival, Real Madrid, and in their remodeled stadium. It would be title number 29 – here’s how that compares – and is something that has never happened in the history of the Catalan club, and the occasion is being greeted with particular excitement.

That said, over the years there have been meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid that ended up being decisive in determining the title race in the Catalans’ favor. The most recent precedent came last season. Barcelona held a four-point lead over Madrid, and the Clásico was their rival’s last chance to rejoin the title race, with three more games still to play. Carlo Ancelotti’s side went ahead through a Kylian Mbappé double, but Barça turned the game around in barely half an hour. The match ended 4-3, and Barcelona sealed the title at Espanyol’s ground one round later.

Kessié’s stoppage-time goal pushed Barça toward the title

In the 2022-23 season, a stoppage-time goal from Franck Kessié sealed Barcelona’s win in the Clásico and left LaLiga practically decided. With those three points, Xavi Hernández’s side moved 12 points clear of Madrid with 36 still to play for. Only a catastrophe would have stopped Barça from winning that league title. The scenes at Spotify Camp Nou were absolute madness after the goal from “the president,” who would later move to Saudi Arabia to continue his career.

The 2010 meeting between Barcelona and Madrid was absolutely decisive. It was matchday 31 and both teams were level on 77 points. The winner of that game had every chance of going on to win the title. Lionel Messi and Pedro scored the goals. In the final LaLiga standings, only three points separated Barça and Madrid.

The 2-6 masterpiece that changed everything

That game came one season after the historic 2-6 at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2009. The Clásico at the Bernabéu gave Madrid the chance to move to within just one point of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. It was matchday 34. Madrid were in sky-high spirits after putting together 17 wins and one draw in 18 games. They saw it as a unique opportunity to put huge pressure on Messi and company. But Barcelona produced a masterpiece and took the Clásico – and LaLiga.

The Clásico of the 1993-94 season was decisive for Barcelona, though not for Madrid, who were out of the title race. But Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team had to win at the Bernabéu on the penultimate matchday to keep alive their chances of being crowned champions in the final round, provided Deportivo slipped up against Valencia. A lone goal from Guillermo Amor gave Barcelona the win. The rest is history.

The older Clásico games that tipped the title Barça’s way

To find the other decisive meetings between the two teams, we have to go a long way back in history. One came in 1960. Madrid had beaten Barcelona 2-0 at the Bernabéu but lost 3-1 at Camp Nou. With that win, the Catalans drew level on points and on head-to-head goal average. In the end, they won the title thanks to a better overall goal difference.

The first decisive Clásico came in 1945. At the old Les Corts stadium, the two teams met on matchday 21 of a 26-game season. Barcelona were one point ahead of Madrid and won 5-0, securing two decisive points in the final outcome of the campaign, because only one point separated the teams in the final standings.

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