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Robert Lewandowski’s second-half strike was enough to see Barcelona move four points adrift of LaLiga leaders Real Madrid after beating Deportivo Alaves 1-0 on Sunday.
Barcelona moved on to 45 points, closing in on second-placed Atletico Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti’s table-toppers, who were stunned by Espanyol 24 hours earlier.
Hansi Flick’s side started brightly and almost went ahead after four minutes when Lamine Yamal’s mazy run ended at the feet of Raphinha, who fired wide from close range.
A clash of heads between Gavi and Tomas Conechny in the first-half saw both players depart in a match that lacked clear-cut chances in the opening exchanges.
Lewandowski then fired a left-footed strike wide of the right-hand post as Barcelona struggled to test visiting goalkeeper Jesus Owono before the break.
The hosts continued to push for the opener as Yamal cut inside and unleashed a stinging strike on target, only for Owono to brilliantly tip the ball over the crossbar.
But Barcelona edged ahead just after the hour when Yamal’s deflected cross fell kindly to Lewandowski who turned the ball home with a first-time finish from inside the box.
After opening the scoring, the Blaugrana were happy to protect their lead and were able to see out a 15th league victory of the season to keep their title hopes alive.
Data Debrief: Lewangoalski the difference once again
Barcelona knew that they had to capitalise on Madrid’s slip-up on Saturday, and they did so through their master marksman, with Lewandowski scoring his 18th LaLiga goal of the season to seal a huge win.
It was also the Pole’s 60th LaLiga goal in his 90th appearance since joining the Blaugrana, with only Cristiano Ronaldo (61 games) and Luis Suarez (66 games) reaching that milestone quicker than Lewandowski in the Spanish top-flight.
He also scored the opening goal of a LaLiga game in 2024-25 for a division-high seventh time, but his winner was created by the brilliant Yamal.
Yamal attempted 21 dribbles against Alaves (11 completed), the most of any Barcelona player in a single LaLiga game since at least 2005-06 (20 by Lionel Messi vs Mallorca in April 2007), while also creating more chances (three) than anyone on the pitch.
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