Barcelona prepared for their Champions League clash against PSG in 11 days, with a simple victory, but by a narrow scoreline.
Spanish champions Barcelona narrowed the gap with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga to five points with a 1-0 win over 10-man Las Palmas on Saturday.
Raphinha headed home in the second half to clinch victory for Barcelona after the visitors had goalkeeper Alvaro Valles sent off after 24 minutes for a rash foul.
Barcelona prepared for their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain, their next match in 11 days, with a simple, but narrow, victory.
Xavi Hernández’s side are unbeaten in 11 games since the manager announced his departure at the end of the season and their recent form has given them faint hope of retaining their title.
“We could have scored more, we had many chances to kill the game,” Xavi said.
“That’s a summary of our season, we’re struggling to close out games.”
Real Madrid face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu, aiming to restore their eight-point lead over the second-placed Catalans.
“These are three important points, we know they will be important at the end of the season,” Raphinha told Movistar.
“We will continue to fight until the end and we will not give up until the end of the league.”
Barcelona dominated the early stages against Las Palmas, with Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha both having goals ruled out for offside.
Polish striker Lewandowski hit the bar on another occasion as Xavi’s side strolled, although former Barca striker Sandro Ramirez threatened at the other end before unleashing a weak shot.
Las Palmas goalkeeper Valles was sent off after 24 minutes for rushing out of his goal and crashing into a busy Raphinha.
Lewandowski hit the bar again from Joao Cancelo’s cross and Raphinha fired narrowly wide when he could have scored as Barcelona continued to press for the opener.
Breakthrough
With 10 men, Las Palmas set up more defensively and tried to frustrate the Catalans, although they went even closer when defender Saul Coco fired a vicious free kick into the side net.
Winger Marvin Park, on loan to Las Palmas from Real Madrid, forced a smart save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen a minute before Barcelona took the lead.
Substitute Joao Felix played a superb pass into the box for Raphinha to head home his fifth La Liga goal of the season.
The Brazilian winger drew a VAR television screen in a sarcastic celebration, in reference to his previous disallowed strike.
Félix should have doubled Barcelona’s lead when Jules Koundé rolled the ball across goal for him, but the Portuguese striker hit the crossbar when it looked easier to score.
“There is no need to say whether he starts or not for us, Joao Felix is important for us and he still was,” said Xavi, of the mercurial striker on loan from Atletico Madrid.
Ferran Torres returned from a hamstring injury in the closing stages, replacing teenage starlet Lamine Yamal, who had a quiet night compared to his heroics for Spain against Brazil on Tuesday.
Lewandowski, booked for his slow start as he was replaced by Vitor Roque, will miss Barcelona’s next league match, against Cadiz – and will return for the key Clasico battle against Real Madrid on April 21.
Earlier on Saturday, Sevilla beat Getafe 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Sergio Ramos on his 38th birthday, while Valencia drew 0-0 with Real Mallorca and Osasuna beat Almeria 3-0 .
Quarrel against racism
The Getafe match was marked by controversy, with Sevilla condemning “racist and xenophobic abuse” aimed at coach Quique Sanchez Flores and defender Marcos Acuna.
Referee Javier Iglesias Villanueva wrote in his report that home fans shouted “Acuna monkey” and “Acuna, you come from the monkeys” at the Argentina international, leading the official to briefly suspend the match.
Sanchez Flores said he was called a “gypsy” by some local fans.
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