Leganés 0-1 FC Barcelona: Golden victory for Barça to move 7 points ahead of Madrid!

FC Barcelona took another step towards the Liga title with a narrow victory against Leganés (0-1). An own goal by Jorge Sáenz in the 48th minute was enough for Hansi Flick's team to reach 70 points in the tournament, with the Azulgrana side moving 7 and 10 points ahead of Real Madrid and Atlético, respectively, with only seven matchdays remaining.

The match, as expected, was very complicated from start to finish for the 'Culés' at Butarque, a ground where both 'Merengues' and 'Colchoneros' have already suffered this season. Lega had surprised Barça in the first leg (0-1) and, beyond being in relegation places, once again demonstrated a remarkable ability to stand up to the big teams.

Barça didn't take too long to create danger in the goal defended by Dmitrovic. Two through passes from Robert Lewandowski and Alejandro Balde to Pedri and Raphinha, respectively, generated anxiety in the rival area, but the final shot was missing to define two very dangerous plays. Lega reacted in the 12th minute with a good individual play in which Dani Raba surpassed Iñigo Martínez in the one-on-one. The midfielder stood to finish, but Szczesny reacted in time with a great save.

Barça struggled to find depth in Butarque

After about ten very interesting minutes for the 'Pepineros', Barça reappeared in the rival area in the 19th minute, with a deflected header from Fermín. Three minutes later, Koundé came close to scoring with a shot deflected by Sergio González that almost surprised Dmitrovic. Barça returned to settle in the rival half and Raphinha warned again with another deflected shot in the 26th minute.

A couple of minutes later, Lamine Yamal received a bad late tackle from Javi Hernández, overlooked by referee Hernández Maeso. Just afterwards, the Azulgrana winger sent a low shot to the side of the net. Leganés, for their part, continued to disrupt the game by imposing physical play and quick breaks with long balls, trying to surprise the 'Culés' full-backs.

Balde injured and Barça in trouble before half-time

In the final stretch of the first half, Barça's worst moments arrived. In the 38th minute, Alejandro Balde was injured while trying to cut off a dangerous attack by Altimira on the left. Lega claimed a foul by the Catalan full-back, but Hernández Maeso allowed play to continue. Given the '3's' problems in rejoining, Hansi Flick ordered the entry of Gerard Martín.

Already in added time, in the last action of the first half, Óscar Rodríguez surprised the Azulgrana defense and filtered a cross pass for Dani Raba. The 'Pepineros' player was already savoring his revenge against Szczesny, unmarked and with the entire goal at his disposal, but Raphinha, with a remarkable run, arrived before his rival to save a goal that seemed inevitable.

Raphinha was once again the hero for Barça in the second half

After the break, Barça, now with Frenkie de Jong in place of Araujo, found the advantage on the scoreboard unexpectedly. In the 48th minute, a mistake in Lega's exit and a timely cut by Gerard Martín allowed Raphinha to find time and space on the left to play a low pass to Lewandowski. The Pole arrived free to finish and Jorge Sáenz, desperate to prevent the Pole's shot, slid to cut, sending the ball into his own goal.

Dmitrovic was caught halfway and the whole of Barça ran to celebrate with Rafa and 'Lewy', who was already savoring his hundredth goal in the 'Culé' shirt. Something that will have to wait, at least, until Wednesday. The 0-1 gave Barcelona much more peace of mind to manage the ball, while the locals, emotionally touched, tried to preserve the order that gave them such good results in the first half.

In the 57th minute, Fermín came very close to scoring the goal of the year, bringing down a clearance on the edge of the area before leaving four rivals stranded with a spectacular double dribble. Inexplicably, he crossed his right-footed shot too much in front of Dmitrovic. The Brazilian continued to be Barça's main weapon to create danger and, in the 63rd minute, he put in a perfect cross that Lewandowski headed slightly wide.

Lega continued without finding solutions to worry the rival area and coach Borja Jiménez put Neyou in place of Óscar. Flick, for his part, responded with Ferran Torres and Gavi in place of Robert and Fermín. Lamine tested Dmitrovic's resistance with a shot from a narrow angle and Raba, with a header, scored in a clear offside position in a stretch where the locals managed to move forward for the first time after the break.

Barça managed to add three points with a taste of title

In the 76th minute, the locals had the best chance of the match, with a through pass from Juan Cruz that left the recently entered Diego García in an unbeatable position to finish. The striker, however, crossed his shot too much, despite winning the back of the Catalan central defenders. Pau Cubarsí came on for Eric García ten minutes from the end and Sáenz almost scored a double own goal after a corner.

Towards the end, the match heated up due to an unsanctioned foul on Raphinha very close to the area, but Barça managed to manage the advantage without too many scares, with the exception of another providential cut by Iñigo to Munir in added time, to add three points with a taste of title. With seven matchdays to go, Hansi Flick's team have everything in place to win their 28th Liga title in the season in which the club celebrates its 125th anniversary, a title that would be one more step towards the coveted third treble.

Match details: CD Leganés 0-1 FC Barcelona

• Leganés, 0: Dmitrovic; Rosier, Altimira (García, min. 75), Sergio González, Jorge Sáenz, Javi Hernández; Cissé (Munir, min. 75), Tapia, Óscar Rodríguez (Neyou, min. 67); Diomande and Dani Raba.
• FC Barcelona, 1: Szczesny; Koundé, Araujo (De Jong, min. 46), Iñigo Martínez, Balde (Gerard Martín, min. 41); Eric García (Cubarsí, min. 79), Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Fermín (Gavi, min. 68), Raphinha; Lewandowski (Ferran, min. 68).
• Goals: 0-1, Jorge Sáenz (own goal, min. 48);
• Referee: Francisco José Hernández Maeso (Extremaduran Committee). Booked Altimira for Leganés in the first half.
• Stadium: Municipal de Butarque.
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 31 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25.