- Barcelona beat 10-man Las Palmas 1-0 on Saturday to put pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid
- Barcelona have been in dazzling form since it was announced that they will be parting ways with manager Xavi Hernandez at the end of this season
On Saturday, Barcelona beat 10-man Las Palmas during the Barcelona vs Las Palmas La Liga fixture to put pressure on league leaders Real Madrid.
Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles was sent off in the 26th minute, allowing Barca to use their numerical advantage to win the match. The Catalans secured a 1-0 win, thanks to winger Raphinha’s strike in the second half. They are currently five points behind Real Madrid, who will try to increase the gap on Sunday as they welcome Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Barcelona vs Las Palmas. Photo/ FC Barcelona Noticias.
Barcelona have been in dazzling form since it was announced that they will be parting ways with manager Xavi Hernandez at the end of this season. They will feel they should have scored more against Las Palmas with so many chances going to waste and playing over 60 minutes with a team that had fewer players on the pitch.
Xavi had a realistic assessment of the narrow win on Saturday saying it’s a summary of their season so far.
“The final result was very tight. The game turned in our favour after the expulsion of Valles. It’s difficult for us to score in these type of matches, we suffer. It’s a summary of our season, we find it difficult to close out games.” Xavi said after the Barcelona vs Las Palmas match, as per Football Espana.
The Catalans are so far undefeated in eleven matches and have a 11-day break before their UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg tie against Paris Saint-Germain. This will then be the must-win matches in La Liga if they are to try and stop Real Madrid from winning the title.
Barca, who are the defending champions of La Liga, won the title last season with four games left to play. They will be one of the forces to try and stop Carlo Ancelotti’s side from being crowned champions early when they go head to head at the Bernabeu on 21 April.
How The Barcelona Vs Las Palmas Game Unfolded
Barcelona started the game just as they would have wanted to, displaying attacking brilliance. Poland international Robert Lewandowski thought he had given his side the lead inside five minutes but was not even given time to run and celebrate his strike as the goal was ruled out for offside.
Barca continued to attack and Lewandowski was again almost celebrating after cutting inside and firing a low strike only to be denied by Las Palmas goalie Alvaro Valles. However, he couldn’t stop Raphinha’s strike in the 15th minute that found the back of the net. Luckily to him and his Las Palmas teammates, the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.
Valles, who has been one of the best goalkeepers in La Liga this season, produced a moment of madness shortly afterwards as he run outside his box and wiped out Raphinha, leaving the referee with no option but to send him off. A tactical change due to the red card led to Morocco international Munir El Haddadi making a way for second choice goalie Aaron Escandell.
Raphinha scored the only goal of the match. Photo/ FC Barcelona.
Despite Barca having the numerical advantage on the pitch, they struggled to break Las Palmas defence and score. Xavi then made the change his team needed in the second half, introducing Portugal international Joao Felix, who would turn out to be the missing piece in this match.
Barely three minutes after coming on, Felix created the opportunity for Raphinha to score. The Brazilian scored in the 59th minute.
Joao Felix had a golden opportunity to put the game to bed but he hit the crossbar from close range. Barca won the match 1-0.
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