Robert Lewandowski’s second-half goal gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over Alaves on Sunday, closing the gap to La Liga leaders Real Madrid to four points.
The victory came after Madrid slipped up in a 1-0 loss to Espanyol on Saturday.
Barcelona, currently third, now trails second-placed Atletico Madrid by just three points ahead of their derby with Real Madrid next weekend.
The match was hard-fought, with Alaves frustrating Barcelona for most of the game.
Barcelona struggled to create chances in the first half, with only a mazy dribble from Lamine Yamal getting the fans excited.
Gavi and Tomas Conechny were both substituted after a clash of heads.
Lewandowski had a couple of near misses, including a scuffed shot wide and a low effort from Pedri that was easily saved.
After halftime, Barcelona looked sharper with the introduction of Frenkie de Jong and Eric Garcia.
Lewandowski eventually broke the deadlock in the 61st minute, finishing from close range after a cross-shot from Yamal.
The goal marked Lewandowski’s 18th of the season, extending his lead as La Liga’s top scorer, now three ahead of Kylian Mbappe.
Despite a late save from Alaves goalkeeper Jesus Owono to deny Ferran Torres, Barcelona could not add another goal but secured the narrow win.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
