Liga: without shining, Barça provides the essentials against Las Palmas before returning to PSG

The Spanish champion was back on deck! As part of the 30th day of La Liga, FC Barcelona hosted Las Palmas in Montjuic. In order to put pressure on Real Madrid and preserve a slim hope of winning the title at the end of the season, victory was essential for Barça. Warmly installed in the soft underbelly of the ranking, Las Palmas intended to increase its lead over the red zone in the event of a favorable result. A task which nevertheless promised to be delicate for a team stuck in a negative spiral (3 defeats, 2 draws) and faced with an opponent undefeated for 10 matches in all competitions. If JG Pimienta made three changes compared to the previous day, Xavi, for his part, dealt with the absences of Gavi, Pedri and de Jong.

As expected, Barça set the tempo from the start. If Raphinha wasted a great opportunity on a risky restart from Killian (2nd), Lewandowski subsequently attempted a subtle lob on Valles before being flagged offside (4th). Bis repeated on the following action where the Pole thought to deceive the opposing goalkeeper in two stages (5th). Imprecise in ball exits, Las Palmas played to scare themselves but managed to shine through Munir. After getting rid of Cubarsi, the Moroccan striker rushed too much and did not target his shot sufficiently (8th). After an intense first quarter of an hour, the pace dropped a notch, the Catalans content to rotate the ball in an attempt to find an opening. And while Lewandowski stumbled on Valles (16th), Raphinha was in turn trapped by offside (19th). But in this part, the slightest mistake could be costly and Las Palmas was quick to pay the price. Far from his bases, Valles was guilty of an inconsiderate outing on Raphinha and was logically excluded (24th).

Barça still has slim hope in the title race!

At eleven against ten, Barça literally deprived the opponent of the ball and came dangerously close to Escandell's goal. However, success was not there on the Blaugrana side, like this header from Lewandowski on the crossbar of the Jaune et Bleu goalkeeper (35th) or this distant attempt from Fermin, off target (42nd) . Same story for Raphinha who wasted yet another cartridge (45th) while Coco, inspired by a free kick, was close to the hold-up (45th + 3). Far too messy at the front, Barça was hanging on at the break. From then on, the Spanish champion was obliged to raise the cursor to worry Las Palmas. Playing in an ultra-defensive pattern after returning from the locker room, the Canary Islands club offered good resistance to their Catalan counterpart without however managing to reverse the trend. But the minutes passed and the visitors' bodies grew tired. Suffering physically, Pimienta's men ended up faltering on the hour mark.

Freshly entered into play, João Félix distinguished himself by placing a marvelous ball on the head of Raphinha who cleared Escandell's top corner (1-0, 62nd). Persevering, the Brazilian rewarded his team's clear domination by scoring his 5th goal of the season in La Liga. Having done the hardest part in this part, the Catalan club continued to maintain the pressure on the yellow and blue camp. Wishing at all costs to take shelter once and for all, Barça nevertheless lacked precision in the last gesture. Proof of this is with this incredible failure by João Félix who, although alone at 5m50, found a way to grab Escandell's bar (78th). Despite a slight scare following this solitary raid by Moleiro a stone's throw from added time (87th), the Blaugranas were heading towards new success in La Liga. With this result, Barça temporarily returns to 5 points behind Real Madrid. Above all, Xavi's men continue 12 days before their quarter-final first leg of the Champions League against PSG.