Barcelona 2-0 Leganes
Barcelona went five points clear at the top of La Liga tonight with a comfortable victory over struggling Leganes, thanks to goals from talisman Lionel Messi and 17-year-old starlet Ansu Fati.
A goal either side of half-time took the sting out of a Leganes side which started brightly but faded in the second half as the Blaugrana coasted home for a second win since the restart.
Highlights of the game
Leganes came into the game joint bottom of the table, but they could have been 0-2 up within the first half hour.
First, Javier Eraso beat the Barca offside trap and his effort broke to Miguel Angel Guerrero, who beat Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. But Barca defender Clement Lenglet was on hand to clear the ball off the goal line.
And moments later when Recio flicked on a cross, Guerrero collected again and fired a shot that Ter Stegen wouldn’t have gotten to had it been on target.
Barca began to take control of the ball and pressed Leganes back into their own half, with Ivan Rakitic and Antoine Griezmann combining well before the French striker directed his header just off target.
Head coach Quique Setien started with 17-year-old winger Fati in the side, and the young Guinean was lively on the left as the champions probed for an opener.
Fati is an exciting player, and he showed just why the top teams in Europe are all watching him closely when he scored the opener just before the break.
Junior Firpo worked the ball to him on the edge of the penalty area and he didn’t hesitate, instinctively firing the ball low into the corner for his fifth goal in eight starts for the league leaders.
Lionel Messi scored his 20th goal of the league season last week, and he almost made it two when he reached a Sergio Roberto cross, but his header flew narrowly wide.
The Barca skipper had the first shot on target of the second half with a free-kick from 25 yards out, but Ivan Cuellar collected comfortably. Then Setien made his first change, giving Fati a well-earned rest as Luis Suarez made his Camp Nou comeback.
Griezmann had looked out of sorts in the first half, but he finished smartly when Nelson Semedo put one on a plate for him. However, VAR adjudged the wing back to be marginally offside.
Barca were two up soon enough though, when Messi ran at the Leganes defence and was felled at the edge of the box. The referee pointed to the spot, Messi climbed to his feet and fired home his 21st of the season.
It was a harsh award and Los Pepineros can feel a little unlucky, but that was a blow they couldn’t come back from.
Suarez almost made it three deep into stoppage time, but he couldn’t quite control a beautiful ball from Messi.
Key Statistics
With the transfer of Martin Braithwaite to Barcelona in February, Leganes have been left rather short up front and started with a team which had scored one league goal between them.
And while they made a bright start they couldn’t take advantage and ended up losing the shot count by six to ten, while conceding 75 per cent possession to Barca.
The Barcelona vs Leganes betting odds had the hosts at 1.15 to win, and it was little surprise when the champions registered a 14th home victory of the season.
What’s next?
Barca made a fast start in their first game back, slamming Real Mallorca 0-4, and they kept the momentum going with a comfortable win tonight.
Second-placed Real Madrid will have kept a close eye on the Barcelona vs Leganes updates tonight, and now Los Blancos must keep up the pressure with a home game against Europa League-chasing Valencia on Thursday night.
The Blaugrana are away to third-placed Sevilla on Friday when the SBOBET La Liga team will be right there to bring you all the action.
Leganes battled hard tonight and their fight continues with a key six-pointer away to Real Mallorca on Friday before entertaining Granada next Monday as the games come thick and fast.
There’s plenty to look forward to in Spain’s top division and, elsewhere, tomorrow welcomes the Premier League kick-off, when Aston Villa face Sheffield United before champions Manchester City take on Arsenal.
It’s a great time to be a football fan again!
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