Raphinha and Fermín Lópezsaved Barcelona from a stumble at relegated Valladolid on Saturday, helping it close on the LaLiga title before a crunch Champions League match at Inter Milan.
Halftime substitute Raphinha canceled out Valladolid’s first-half opener in the 54th minute. López continued his quietly superb season by bagging the winner six minutes later for a 2-1 road victory.
Cristiano Ronaldo appears to talk to himself in the middle of the soccer field
Hansi Flick played with fire by rotating his starting XI ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Milan, where Barcelona and Inter will see which can tip the balance in their semifinal after delivering a 3-3 thriller this week in Spain.
Valladolid made a surprising start when Iván Sánchez’s shot deflected off Ronald Araújo, hit the turf and looped over goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was making his first start since recovering from a right knee injury in September.
Barcelona was stalled until Lamine Yamal replaced injured debutant Daniel Rodríguez, whose first game ended after just over half an hour when he hurt his right arm.
Raphinha replaced an ineffective Ansu Fati at halftime. The Brazil forward, who has come through in the clutch for Barcelona this season, drilled in a loose ball after goalie André Ferreira punched a cross by Yamal to the edge of the area. Fermín followed up moments later with a precise, low strike into the corner.
Yamal had a goal-bound shot saved on the line by Valladolid’s Antonio Candela in the 80th. The 17-year-old also delivered the dribble of the match, when he spun with the ball to twirl past two defenders.
Barcelona opened a seven-point gap over Real Madrid, which it beat last weekend in the Copa del Rey final to launch its bid for a treble.
Madrid hosts Celta Vigo on Sunday. After this round there will be four games left, including a clasico in Barcelona next weekend.
