Spanish champions Barcelona closed the gap on Real Madrid at the top of La Liga to five points with a 1-0 win at 10-man Las Palmas on Saturday. Raphinha headed home in the second half to seal Barcelona’s victory after the visitors dismissed goalkeeper Alvaro Valles after 24 minutes for a rash foul. Barcelona warmed up for their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain, their next match in eleven days, with an easy victory, albeit by a narrow scoreline.
Xavi Hernandez’s team is unbeaten in eleven games since the coach said he would leave at the end of the season. Their recent form has given them some hope of retaining their title.
“We could have scored more, we had many chances to finish the match,” said Xavi.
“It’s a summary of our season, we find it difficult to close games.”
Real Madrid will take on Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, aiming to restore their eight-point lead over the Catalans, who are second.
“They are three important points, we know they will be important at the end of the season,” Raphinha told Movistar.
“We will continue to fight until the end and we will not give up until the competition is over.”
Barcelona dominated the opening stages against Las Palmas, with goals from Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha disallowed for offside.
Polish striker Lewandowski hit the crossbar on another occasion as Xavi’s side strolled, although former Barca striker Sandro Ramirez threatened at the other end before scoring a weak shot.
Las Palmas goalkeeper Valles was sent off after 24 minutes for rushing out of his goal and crashing into the busy Raphinha.
Lewandowski hit the crossbar again after Joao Cancelo’s cross and Raphinha shot narrowly wide when he could have scored as Barcelona continued to push for the opener.
– Breakthrough –
With ten men, Las Palmas took a more defensive position and tried to frustrate the Catalans, although they came close again when defender Saul Coco hit a vicious free kick into the side netting.
Winger Marvin Park, on loan at Las Palmas from Real Madrid, forced a smart low save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen a minute before Barcelona took the lead.
Joao Felix, coming on as a substitute, produced a glorious pass into the area for Raphinha to head in his fifth La Liga goal of the season.
The Brazilian winger drew a VAR television screen during a sarcastic celebration, referring to his previous disallowed goal.
Felix should have doubled Barcelona’s lead when Jules Kounde rolled the ball across goal in front of him, but the Portuguese forward hit the crossbar when it looked easier to score.
“There is no need to talk about whether he starts for us or not. Joao Felix is important for us and again he was,” said Xavi, of the on-loan striker from Atletico Madrid.
Ferran Torres made his return from a hamstring injury in the closing stages, replacing teenage star Lamine Yamal, who had a quiet night on Tuesday due to his heroics for Spain against Brazil.
Lewandowski, who was shown a yellow card for slowing off when replaced by Vitor Roque, will miss Barcelona’s next league match against Cadiz and return for the main Clasico clash against Real Madrid on April 21.
Earlier Saturday, Sevilla beat Getafe 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Sergio Ramos on his 38th birthday, while Valencia drew 0-0 with Real Mallorca and Osasuna beat Almeria 3-0.
– Racism row –
The match against Getafe was hit by controversy, with Sevilla condemning “racist and xenophobic abuse” against coach Quique Sanchez Flores and defender Marcos Acuna.
Referee Javier Iglesias Villanueva wrote in his report that home fans shouted “Acuna aap” and “Acuna, you come from monkeys” at the Argentina international, causing the referee to briefly pause the match.
Sánchez Flores said he was called a ‘gypsy’ by some home fans.
(This story has not been edited by WhatsNew2Day staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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