It all came down to this. El Clasico at Camp Nou on Sunday was Real Madrid's final realistic hope of reigniting LaLiga's title race, but Franck Kessie's dramatic late winner puts Barcelona practically out of sight.
While Barca coach Xavi had been keen to downplay the idea of this contest being in any way "definitive", only going as far as suggesting victory would be a "strong blow", it's difficult to imagine him actually believing those comments now.
Kessie's neat strike secured Barca a thrilling 2-1 win and their celebrations said it all. This was no standard Clasico victory – it was a win that should bury Madrid's title hopes once and for all, putting the Blaugrana a massive 12 points clear with as many games to go.
Were it any other team then perhaps Madrid might still retain a modicum of belief, but this is a Barca side that have only conceded five LaLiga goals all season to teams not named 'Real Madrid'.
What hope do they really have of Barca dropping at least 12 points? After all, no team has ever even overturned a nine-point lead at this stage in a season, let alone a 12-point deficit.
Yet it had all started so well.
It was particularly fitting to see the opening goal involve the two men routinely identified as the key battle in Clasicos these days.
Vinicius Junior has become a talismanic figure for Madrid, while Ronald Araujo has developed into one of the most dependable and formidable defenders in Europe.
Their tussles are now something of a feature in El Clasico, and this instalment produced a major early flashpoint.
Vinicius was allowed to run with the ball in the Barca box, and although he initially moved away from goal, he then jinked right towards the byline, his clipped left-footed cross hitting the head of Araujo and glancing past the helpless Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
While fortuitous, it was a swift reminder of the danger posed by Madrid's Brazilian winger after Barca had begun the game with a flourish.
The game's other Brazilian winger looked Barca's best bet to get on the scoresheet. A brilliant header – pushed away by Thibaut Courtois – a few moments before Araujo's own goal was Raphinha's first involvement.
He then produced a series of crosses before the half-hour mark, causing plenty of problems in the Madrid defence as Raphinha looked to test their suitability against an aerial bombardment.
Vintage Barca? Perhaps not, but there were signs of encouragement at least, with Andreas Christensen heading one such delivery agonisingly wide.
Raphinha's new-found influence and confidence was clear to see, and he then looked to take matters into his own hands as he shook off Nacho Fernandez and forced Courtois into a fingertip save.
So, just as it was unsurprising to see Vinicius instigate the opener, Raphinha playing a part in the equaliser was similarly predictable.
Well, sort of. Initially he drew cackles of derision from Madrid fans and simultaneous groans of bewilderment from the Barca supporters as his air shot saw a glorious chance go begging. But a few seconds later, on the stroke of half-time, it was his effort that was blocked right to Sergi Roberto, who coolly slotted out of Courtois' reach – 1.1.
It was a goal that seemingly restored real poise to Barca at the start of the second half, with Madrid initially looking even less of a threat than before the interval.
Part of Los Blancos' problem appeared to stem from a lack of invention. Everything went through Vinicius, and he was – for a while – the only Madrid player who looked likely to worry Barca.
As lively as he was, their dependency on him made Madrid largely one-dimensional, and unfortunately for them Vinicius couldn't do it all on his own.
For a moment that looked irrelevant. Substitute Marco Asensio stroked into the bottom-left corner in the 81st minute after meeting Dani Carvajal's pass. Suddenly Madrid's title challenge was reignited, only for those hopes to be brutally extinguished by a VAR check – Asensio was fractionally offside.
The sheer gut-wrenching disappointment sweeping across the visiting team was almost tangible. They'd gone from bedlam to broken in a matter of seconds, and what followed was a further, and surely fatal, body-blow.
Kessie finished from Alejandro Balde's cut-back to essentially leave Madrid needing two goals in stoppage time to salvage any semblance of hope.
That was beyond them.
Madrid will now have to carry on pretending to believe the near-impossible is plausible. In reality, it's game over.
Chelsea Women 0-2 Barcelona Femeni (1-2 agg): Holders reach Champions League final again
Women's Champions League holders Barcelona overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to reach a fourth straight final on Saturday, beating 10-player Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Emma Hayes' hopes of ending her glittering spell with the Blues by lifting the Champions League trophy were dashed in heartbreaking fashion in front of a sell-out crowd in West London.
Barca went ahead through Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati 26 minutes in, the diminutive Spaniard seeing her shot deflect off Kadeisha Buchanan to beat Hannah Hampton.
The hosts pushed for a response as Sjoeke Nuksen struck the post, but their position worsened just before the hour mark as Buchanan was perhaps harshly shown a second yellow card for her tackle on Salma Paralluelo.
Barca penned their hosts back from there and Bonmati was decisive again as they inched ahead with 15 minutes to play, drawing a foul from Ashley Lawrence and allowing Fridolina Rolfo to convert from the penalty spot.
Jonatan Giraldez's team have won two of the last three editions of the Champions League, also losing in the final to Lyon in 2021-22. They could be reunited with Les Lyonnaises in next month's final in Bilbao, as they hold a 3-2 lead over Paris Saint-Germain at the halfway stage of the other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Bonmati caps trademark Barca performance
Aided by Buchanan's red card, Barcelona showcased their mastery of possession-based football at Stamford Bridge, enjoying 67.8 per cent of the possession and completing over twice as many passes as Chelsea (583 to 224).
Bonmati was at the centre of everything for the Blaugrana, playing a key role in both goals as well as laying on two chances for team-mates and playing 31 passes in the final third – no Chelsea player recorded more than 11.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Stuttgart: Last-gasp equaliser preserves champions' unbeaten run
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen scored a last-gasp equaliser through Robert Andrich to come from two goals down and rescue a 2-2 draw against Stuttgart on Saturday.
The late drama ensured the hosts extended their record unbeaten run to 46 matches across all competitions.
Leverkusen – who play Roma in the Europa League semi-finals, are also through to the DFB-Pokal final and have already secured their first-ever league title – have now scored 16 goals in stoppage time in all competitions this season.
After a low-key first half, Leverkusen were quickly 2-0 behind after the break with Chris Fuhrich drilling in on the rebound after keeper Lukas Hradecky had palmed a shot on to the post in the 47th minute.
Deniz Undav doubled the visitors' lead 10 minutes later before Leverkusen launched their comeback attempt with Amine Adli beating keeper Alexander Nubel with a low drive in the 61st.
Nubel made three sensational saves to protect Stuttgart's slim lead, but Andrich came to the rescue deep in stoppage time to extend their impressive undefeated run.
Stuttgart are third in the table on 64 points, five behind second-placed Bayern Munich. Leverkusen are top on 81 with three matches remaining.
Everton 1-0 Brentford: Toffees join Bees in ensuring Premier League status
Everton made mathematically certain of remaining in the Premier League on Saturday as Idrissa Gueye's goal handed them a 1-0 home win over Brentford, who are also safe after Luton Town's earlier loss to Wolves.
Luton's 2-1 defeat at Molineux meant Brentford's slim fears of relegation were behind them before kick-off, while Everton knew a third straight victory would also secure their place in the top flight for next season.
The Toffees' old wastefulness was on show in the first half, but Gueye powered home 15 minutes into the second period to hand them a third Goodison Park triumph in the space of six days.
The result saw Sean Dyche's men climb above their visitors to go 15th in the table, one place and point clear of Brentford, who can also plan ahead for 2024-25 in the top flight after pulling clear of danger.
Everton were without Dominic Calvert-Lewin through illness and Beto due to the head injury he suffered against Nottingham Forest. Their absences were felt when the first chance fell their way after six minutes, Youssef Chermiti failing to get a touch on McNeil's tempting cross.
Mathias Jensen had Brentford's first sight of goal 20 minutes in following good work from Vitaly Janelt, but in-form defender Jarrad Branthwaite denied him with a huge block.
The best opportunity of a low-key opening period, though, fell to Abdoulaye Doucoure, who sent an awkward volley spinning well wide after finding space on the stroke of half-time.
Brentford should have gone ahead within five minutes of the restart, but Jordan Pickford brilliantly smothered Ivan Toney's shot when his England team-mate looked destined to tap home at the far post.
McNeil then rattled the crossbar from range as Everton turned up the pressure, and they made the breakthrough on the hour.
Gueye fired into the top-left corner after Brentford failed to clear following a goalmouth scramble, with the goal confirmed by VAR amid questions about a subjective offside.
Keane Lewis-Potter worked Pickford from the edge of the box, but that was as close as Thomas Frank's men came to an equaliser, and Everton almost had a second when James Garner's free-kick struck the bar in stoppage time.
Everton rescue act complete
When Everton welcomed Burnley to Goodison Park on April 6th, they remained in severe danger of seeing a chastening campaign end in relegation.
However, a run of four wins in five games – the most memorable being Wednesday's 2-0 triumph over Merseyside rivals Liverpool – has dragged the Toffees clear and ensured there will be no repeat of last year, when they remained at the highest level by the skin of the teeth on a nervy final day.
Having earned their first win of the campaign against Brentford back in September, Everton have also done the double over the Bees for just the second time, previously beating them home and away in the second tier back in 1952-53.
Toney struggles continue
While Brentford had enjoyed a resurgence of their own prior to Saturday's game, beating Sheffield United 2-0 and Luton 5-1 in their last two matches, both of those victories came without injured striker Toney.
He returned to the Bees' lineup here but was uncharacteristically quiet, failing to beat Pickford when presented with the visitors' best chance shortly after half-time.
Toney has now failed to score in his last eight Premier League matches, his longest ever run without a goal in the competition. With Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke in fine form as Gareth Southgate prepares to name his England squad for Euro 2024, his barren spell has come at a poor time.
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