La Liga: Barcelona beat Real Mallorca 1-0©AFP
Lamine Yamar’s superb strike helped Barcelona beat struggling Real Mallorca 1-0 as the La Liga champions climbed to second place in Spain on Friday. Injury-plagued Xavi’s revamped Barca side struggled against a strong Mallorca side until Yamal’s moment of magic secured all three points for the resurgent home team. Barcelona currently has 61 points with 10 games remaining, five points behind leaders Real Madrid. Real Madrid face Celta Vigo on Sunday, with Girona on 59 points before hosting Osasuna on Saturday.
It was also a timely win against Napoli in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, with the first leg tied 1-1.
In the 73rd minute, 16-year-old Yamal picked up the ball at the edge of the penalty area, ran in one direction, then turned 180 degrees, and finally hit an unstoppable shot.
On the pristine pitch of the temporary Montjuic Stadium, Barcelona had made four substitutions and was essentially toothless compared to the team that drew 0-0 with Athletic Bilbao last week.
Ilkay Gundogan missed a penalty after a foul on Rafinha in the 24th minute, Pudrag Rajkovic saved well, and Joao Felix almost broke the deadlock, but his shot went wide. .
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen also resisted Manu Moranes’ header in the 38th minute.
Xavi, who was sitting in the stands due to suspension, was forced to make four substitutions in the team’s 0-0 draw with Bilbao. Frenkie de Jong and Pedri were injured, and Robert Lewandowski was injured. Dowski came on as a substitute and Ronald Araujo was suspended. Yamal was one of those brought in.
Many had given up hope of Barca retaining the La Liga title, with Xavi announcing he would leave at the end of the season after a string of poor results in January.
Real Madrid face former coach Rafael Benitez and his side Celta Vigo on Sunday as they look to get back on track after last weekend’s draw with Valencia.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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