May 04, (THEWILL) – Barcelona extended their La Liga advantage with a 2-1 victory against bottom-placed Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Despite fielding a heavily rotated squad ahead of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan, the Catalan club managed to overturn an early deficit to claim three valuable points in their title pursuit.
The match began with Ivan Sanchez giving the hosts a surprising lead after six minutes when his shot deflected off Ronald Araujo and looped past goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was making his first appearance since September.
Barcelona struggled to find rhythm in the first half despite opportunities for Pau Victor and Ansu Fati, both denied by Valladolid goalkeeper Andre Ferreira.
Hansi Flick made tactical adjustments at half-time, introducing Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong, while 17-year-old Lamine Yamal had already entered the match following an injury to debutant Dani Rodriguez.
The changes proved effective as Raphinha equalised following a Yamal cross that Ferreira could only parry to the edge of the box, notching his 16th league goal this season.
Fermin Lopez completed the comeback seven minutes later, finishing from just inside the area after a precise pass from Gerard Martin.
Barcelona nearly added a third when Hector Fort struck the post following a clever backheel from Yamal, but the visitors held firm defensively, with Araujo making a crucial interception in stoppage time to preserve their advantage.
The victory puts Barcelona seven points clear of defending champions Real Madrid, who face Celta Vigo on Sunday before the upcoming Clasico on May 11.
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.
