Teenager Lamine Yamal struck a fine winner as Barcelona beat Mallorca 1-0 at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to move into second place in the LaLiga table.
The 16-year-old beat Predrag Rajkovic with a delightful curling effort in the 73rd minute, having seen the Mallorca goalkeeper tip his shot against the crossbar earlier in the second half.
That was among a number of impressive saves made by Rajkovic, which also included keeping out Ilkay Gundogan’s first-half penalty.
Having avoided a second successive 0-0 draw, Xavi’s men leapfrog Girona into second place, lying two points in front of them and five behind leaders Real Madrid ahead of those sides hosting Osasuna on Saturday and Celta Vigo on Sunday respectively.
Barca’s starting line-up showed four changes from last weekend’s goalless stalemate at Athletic Bilbao, with those coming out of the XI including midfielders Frenkie De Jong and Pedri after they were injured in that game, and Robert Lewandowski, who was on the bench.
The suspended Ronald Araujo was the other man dropping out of the team as 18-year-old Marc Guiu, Yamal, Joao Felix and Inigo Martinez came in.
The hosts had the chance to take the lead midway through the first half when Raphinha was brought down in the area by Jose Manuel Copete and the outcome after a VAR review was a penalty, but Gundogan saw Rajkovic push away his strike from 12 yards.
After Felix put an attempt wide, Barca saw their injury issues increase as Raphinha was forced to come off in the 37th minute, with Fermin Lopez taking his place.
The visitors then brought a save out of Marc-Andre ter Stegen as he dealt with Manu Morlanes’ header, before Rajkovic did well to deny Gundogan and tipped over Lopez’s headed effort.
Rajkovic produced more good work shortly after the break to keep out a deflected Felix shot.
Vedat Muriqi nodded against the Barca crossbar moments later, albeit with the flag going up for offside, and Yamal then saw his shot touched against the woodwork at the other end by Rajkovic just prior to the hour mark.
Xavi introduced Lewandowski and Vitor Roque soon after, and the latter put a header of his own just over the bar in the 69th minute.
Lewandowski then provided the assist as Yamal broke the deadlock in superb fashion, collecting the Poland striker’s pass just outside the box, moving into it and sending a wonderful strike into the top corner.
Yamal then teed up a Lopez effort that was skewed wide late on as Barca claimed the three points.
Ancelotti salutes Madrid's 'commitment and desire' following Sociedad victory
Carlo Ancelotti hailed Real Madrid's commitment and desire as they edged closer to securing the LaLiga title with a 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad.
Arda Guler scored the only goal as Los Blancos extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who host Valencia in their game in hand on Monday.
The 19-year-old was making his first start since arriving from Fenerbahce, as Ancelotti rotated his squad ahead of Madrid's Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.
And the Italian was pleased by the character demonstrated by his players, who stretched their winning streak to six league matches.
"It was clear that everyone thought we were coming here for a walk," he told reporters. "The only ones who didn't think so were the players. They had commitment and attitude. They had the desire and enthusiasm to keep winning.
"We have a spectacular squad. They have this attitude that they feel like they have to win every game. There are four points left to clinch the LaLiga title, and we are very close."
Guler added on Realmadrid TV: "This is the best club in the world and scoring is one of the best feelings.
"This is Real Madrid, the quality of the players is incredible. We're all always ready to play, and I think we've shown that here. I'm waiting patiently, and I'm still working hard every day."
Ancelotti's rotation meant a first start in eight months for Eder Militao, who marked his return from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with a clean sheet.
"I've come back to play 90 minutes and I feel like a player again after many months out," the defender said.
"We have to keep winning, we know that nothing is won yet. We have a big advantage, but we have to keep doing a serious job until the end."
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
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