April 13, (THEWILL) – Barcelona strengthened their position atop La Liga with a 1-0 win against Leganes on Saturday, extending their unbeaten league run to 12 matches and moving seven points clear of second-placed Real Madrid.
The decisive moment came shortly after half-time at Estadio Municipal de Butarque when Leganes defender, Jorge Saenz, inadvertently turned Raphinha’s cross into his own net, with Robert Lewandowski waiting to pounce. The goal proved sufficient for Barcelona to claim all three points in what was a tight encounter.
Lewandowski, who remains one strike away from reaching his century of goals for the Catalan club, had an opportunity to double the advantage when he directed a header wide from another Raphinha delivery before being substituted for Ferran Torres with 23 minutes remaining.
The home side thought they had equalised when Dani Raba headed in from Adria Altimira’s cross, but their celebrations were cut short after the official ruled the effort offside. The narrow defeat keeps Leganes firmly within the relegation zone as they continue their fight for top-flight survival.
Real Madrid now face mounting pressure to respond when they travel to Alaves on Sunday, knowing victory is essential to reduce Barcelona’s advantage back to four points as the title race continues to intensify with the season’s end near.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
