Barcelona 1 – 0 Leganés
Barcelona bounced back to winning ways in La Liga, extending their unbeaten run across all competitions to 24 matches.
Despite dominating possession throughout the match, Barcelona struggled with finishing. Leganés posed several threats to the Catalan defense, but in the second half, an own goal gave Barcelona a hard-fought victory. The match ended 1-0 in Barcelona’s favor, thanks to an own goal from Leganés’ defender Jorge Sainz.
This victory saw Barcelona increase their lead to seven points in La Liga. In their first encounter earlier this season, Barcelona had lost 1-0 to Leganés at home.
With 22 wins and 4 draws in 31 matches, Barcelona now sits comfortably at the top of the league with 70 points. Real Madrid, the defending champions, are second with 63 points from one game less.
Barcelona tasted victory after a draw against Real Betis in the previous round. Their 24-match unbeaten run continues across all competitions.
However, there is some concern for Barcelona, as young defender Alejandro Balde was forced off the field with an injury in the first half.
Although Barcelona dominated possession from the start, Leganés had the first real chance in the 12th minute, with Dani Raba’s cut-back forcing goalkeeper Wojciech Stanczyk into a save.
In the 22nd minute, Barcelona came close to scoring, but a shot from Jules Kounde hit a Leganés defender and was cleared by goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.
In the 31st minute, Lamine Yamal’s shot went just wide, and in the 43rd minute, Raba’s shot from outside the box missed by a whisker.
Despite six shots in the first half, Barcelona couldn’t hit the target, while Leganés had three shots, one of which was on goal.
In the second half, Barcelona capitalized on Leganés’ mistake early on. In the 48th minute, a cross from Raphinha saw Leganés’ defender Jorge Sainz score an own goal while attempting to clear the ball.
In the 58th minute, Fermín López missed a chance to double the lead. He controlled the ball well in the box but couldn’t hit the target from a one-on-one situation.
Leganés appealed for a penalty in the 61st minute after Barcelona’s Inigo Martinez handled the ball in the box, but the referee waved it off. A minute later, Robert Lewandowski’s header from Raphinha’s cross went off target.
In the 69th minute, Yamal’s shot from a tight angle was saved by Dmitrovic, which was Barcelona’s first shot on target. The next minute, a header from Raba went into Barcelona’s net, but the linesman flagged it for offside.
Both teams had further chances but failed to convert them.
Leganés sits in 19th place in the league with 28 points from 31 matches.
Barcelona’s next match is a Champions League quarter-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, where they hold a 4-0 advantage from the first leg.
