Barcelona extend unbeaten streak with narrow victory over 10-men Las Palmas
BARCELONA: Second-placed Barcelona continued their impressive form in LaLiga with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over mid-table Las Palmas on Saturday. The Catalan giants secured the win thanks to a second-half header by winger Raphinha, maintaining their unbeaten streak to nine games in the league.
Despite facing a resilient Las Palmas side, Barcelona capitalized on their numerical advantage after the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the opening period. Las Palmas’ Valles saw red after bringing down Raphinha, forcing his team to reshuffle and sacrifice their only forward, Munir, for goalkeeper Aaron Escandell.
Barcelona’s dominance was evident throughout the match, as they controlled possession and created numerous chances despite the rainy conditions at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Although forwards Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha had early goals disallowed for offside, it was Raphinha who eventually found the breakthrough in the 59th minute with a superb header from a cross by substitute Joao Felix.
The victory sees Barcelona maintain their pursuit of league leaders Real Madrid, closing the gap to five points with 67 points from 30 games. With their sights set on European glory, Barcelona will now turn their attention to the upcoming Champions League quarter-finals clash against Paris St Germain next month.(Reuters)
