Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona beat Osasuna 2-0 on Saturday to move seven points clear at the top of La Liga.
Fourth-placed Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Valencia thanks to Antoine Griezmann’s sensational goal, while fifth-placed Espanyol continued their strong start with a 1-0 win over Getafe.
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Barcelona’s Brazilian winger Rafinha broke the deadlock with a shot from the edge of the penalty area after 70 minutes and added another goal at the last minute to give Barcelona their seventh consecutive top-flight win.
Second-placed Real Madrid travel to Alaves on Sunday as they aim to close the gap on the champions to four points.
Barca lacked their usual sparkle but emerged victorious, keeping a clean sheet for the first time in six games in all competitions.
They also recorded their fifth win in five games at home at the partially reopened Camp Nou.
“Raphinha is very important. He scored two goals and is a key player. He defends and attacks – he is very important for us,” Flick said.
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“Maybe we didn’t have many chances, but we scored two goals and got three points.”
Ferran Torres might have given Barca the early lead but headed high over the crossbar from Lamine Yamar’s dangerous cross.
Yamal had several shots beaten in the first half, which was frustrating both for the teenager and for Barca.
Torres scored with a header from Marcus Rashford’s cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
The Spain international’s acrobatic overhead shot went inches wide, with Barca goalkeeper Joan Garcia making a fine save to deny Ante Budimir before the break.
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Barca struggled to break through Osasuna but found a way out when the brilliant Pedri moved forward and found Raphinha on the edge of the area to fire into the bottom right corner.
Osasuna’s Jorge Erlando, who made his debut for the club at the old Camp Nou in 2023, was sent off and had his goal disallowed after Alejandro Cardinale collided with Barca goalkeeper Garcia.
Shortly afterwards, with four minutes left, Alejandro Catena deflected Jules Kounde’s cross into the Brazilian’s path and Raphinha fired home at the back post.
Rafinha started the game as an attacking midfielder. He was one of the key players in the team’s domestic treble win last season and his return after a period of injury has made an impact on the team.
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Barcelona defender Gerard Martin said: “We have a lot of good players and Rafa, or other inside players, ultimately they provide us with a lot of solutions in this position.”
– Atletico Madrid back on track –
Goals from captain Koke and Antoine Griezmann gave Diego Simeone’s fourth-placed Atletico Madrid some breathing space despite being nine points behind Barcelona.
Atletico made a strong return to the Spanish title race after a slow start to the season, but suffered back-to-back defeats to Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao in early December.
They followed up their Champions League win over PSV in midweek with another impressive performance against Los Che at the Metropolitan Stadium.
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“We struggled to find our rhythm, and in the end it was the substitutes who gave us momentum and pace, so we were able to win today,” Griezmann, who came on in the second half, told DAZN.
Valencia started well, with Hugo Duro hitting the crossbar but being destroyed in the scramble for a corner kick. Goalkeeper Julen Aguirrezabala fought back a shot but was unable to do anything and Koke converted the rebound into the goal.
No. 16 Valencia equalized shortly after the end when Beltran’s long-range shot hit Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Simeone’s side won the game through Griezmann, who lifted Marc Pubil’s long ball out of the air with his raised left leg, read the ball’s bounce and flicked it past Aguirre Zabala for his fifth league goal.
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Manolo Gonzalez’s Espanyol kept up the pressure on Atletico with Leandro Cabrera’s header early in the second half to help his side beat Getafe and boost their hopes of European football next season.
Third-placed Villarreal’s match against Levante may be postponed as storms are expected in the area, with Valencia’s parliament asking La Liga to suspend play.
Royal Bank of Scotland/PB