BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona needed an own goal to eke out a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Leganes and protect its lead of the Spanish league on Saturday.
Leganes central defender Jorge Sáenz slid to stop a pass by Raphinha bound for Robert Lewandowski and inadvertently pushed it into his own net for the game’s only goal in the 48th minute.
The error spoiled an otherwise strong performance from the southern Madrid side, which generated more scoring chances than the front-runners.
The hard-earned win extended Barcelona's lead to seven points over Real Madrid before the titleholders visit Alaves on Sunday. After this weekend there are seven rounds left, including a “clasico” next month.
“These games are where leagues are won,” Barcelona’s Éric García said. “It was a night to put the pressure (on Madrid).”
Leganes shocked Barcelona 1-0 in December, during a dip in form by the Catalan club. But since the start of 2025, Barcelona has now gone 24 games without a loss and is in the running for a treble of titles including the Copa del Rey, where it has reached the final against Madrid in two weeks.
Hansi Flick’s side kept up is momentum before it visits Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday aiming to make good on its 4-0 first-leg win in their Champions League quarterfinal.
Like their first match this season, Leganes’ five-man backline frustrated the lauded attack of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha at Butarque Stadium.
At the other end, Barcelona struggled with the counterattacks led by striker Daniel Rabaseda.
Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny did well to block a shot by Adria Altimira set up by Rabaseda. Raphinha had to hustle back to make a last-gasp dive to poke away a dangerous pass destined for Rabaseda in front of the goal just before halftime.
Alejandro Balde left with an apparent leg problem in the first half. But his replacement, Gerard Martín, helped decide the match when he stole a ball and sparked the quick attack that finished with Sáenz's own goal.
Flick said that Balde “was not so good” but added that the team would have to wait to see what Sunday's medical exam of the player determined to see if he would available for the return leg in Dortmund.
Far from rolling over, Leganes continued to threaten. Substitute Diego García sliced a shot just by the far post, and Íñigo Martínez had to disrupt a good scoring chance by Munir El Haddadi in injury time.
“We leave with our hands empty after having played well against a Barca that wasn’t as effective as usual,” Leganes defender Renato Tapia said.
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