Barcelona see off 10-man Las Palmas to keep faint title hopes alive
Fresh from helping Poland secure their spot at Euro 2024, Robert Lewandowski found the net within five minutes of his return to club action, only to see his early strike chalked off for an offside infringement.
As the half moved past the 15-minute mark, Lewandowski cut inside onto his right foot, before drawing a smart near-post save from Álvaro Valles.
The Las Palmas goalkeeper was beaten by Raphinha just moments later, but he would have been relieved to see the assistant raise his flag and deny Barcelona for the second time.
However, Valles’ mood quickly changed when he was shown a straight red card for racing out of the box and clattering into Raphinha, leaving his side to play the remaining 75 minutes with a numerical disadvantage.
Within 10 minutes of his introduction, Valles’ deputy and La Liga debutant Aarón Escandell watched Lewandowski send a header crashing against his crossbar, ensuring the contest remained goalless at the break.
Xavi waited just over 10 second-half minutes before he decided it was time for a change, introducing João Félix with the hope he had the key to unlock a stubborn Las Palmas backline.
It proved to be a masterstroke as Félix required less than five minutes to clip an inch-perfect delivery into the box for Raphinha to attack and power a header past Escandell.
Felix should had a goal of his own to celebrate in the 78th minute when he scooped a gilt-edged opportunity against the woodwork, causing the ball to drop onto the scrambling Escandell and onto the post.
It did not prove to be a costly miss as Barça saw out the remainder of the contest to move within five points of leaders Real Madrid and leave the visitors in 12th following a third consecutive defeat.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Raphinha (Barcelona)
