Barcelona exploits Madrid’s stumble to open 8-point lead

Barcelona, ​​February 6 (BNA): Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble to start the second half of the season with another victory and enjoy its biggest lead yet at the top of La Liga.

After Madrid lost 1-0 to Mallorca, Barcelona extended their 10-match winning streak in all competitions with a comfortable 3-0 win over Sevilla on Sunday to open an eight-point lead over Madrid after 20 of 38 rounds, the Associated Press reports.

It’s the biggest lead for any team this season, putting the Catalan club in firm control as they chase their first league title since 2018-19.

“We’re enjoying a great season,” said Barcelona defender Jordi Alba. “We’re playing well and didn’t give many chances to our opponents.” “It’s eight points. There’s a lot of league left, but it’s a good gap.”

Alba, Javi and Rafinha scored a goal each in the second half to give Barcelona their fifth consecutive league win.

The last match Barcelona failed to win was a 1-1 league draw against Espanyol last year.

Sevilla, who made a surprisingly terrible start to the season, had two consecutive league wins that helped them move clear of the relegation zone. They dropped to 16th with the loss two points from the relegation zone.

Sevilla has not won in 15 league matches against Barcelona, ​​and in 20 consecutive visits to the Catalan club.

Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets was substituted eight minutes into the match at the Camp Nou with an apparent sprained ankle.

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Madrid loses

Marco Asensio missed a penalty in Madrid’s loss in Mallorca in his last match before traveling to Morocco to play in the Club World Cup.

Real Madrid was drained of injuries and rested some players before the Club World Cup.

“We really expected a very difficult game,” said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “We had our chances, but we didn’t take them.”

Ancelotti could not count on several injured players, including striker Karim Benzema, defender Eder Militao and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who was left out of the squad at the last minute after picking up an injury during the warm-up. Ancelotti also rested midfielders Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, who came on in the second half.

Asensio missed an opportunity to equalize when Mallorca goalkeeper Pedrag Rajkovic saved his penalty kick in the 60th minute after a foul by Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior. Madrid’s last chance was a header from Antonio Rudiger that went wide in stoppage time.

The hosts got on the board with an own goal from Nacho Fernandez, who was replacing Militao in defense. Nacho went to a high cross and headed the ball into his own net over goalkeeper Andrei Lunin, who started in place of Courtois.

“I hit the ball with my head and unfortunately it went into the top corner,” said Nacho. “It was a complicated game, against a team that is having a good season. It’s a pity we let three points slip away.”

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Real Madrid was coming off a win against Valencia after being occupied by Real Sociedad. Their opponents in the Club World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday will be Egypt’s Al-Ahly club.

This is Mallorca’s second win in three league matches and fourth in a row at home. He remained in the middle of the standings, with 28 points from 20 matches.

“It’s a good result,” Mallorca coach Javier Aguirre said. “It kept us out of the relegation zone.” “But there are a lot of matches left, we can’t relax.”

Vinicius received a yellow card and will be suspended for Real Madrid’s next league match against bottom-placed Elche.

SOCIEDAD STOSKS

Real Sociedad missed an opportunity to move three points clear of Madrid after losing 1-0 to Valladolid at home.

It was the Basque club’s third winless match after nine straight wins in all competitions. Sociedad was coming off a 1-0 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, and a 0-0 draw with Madrid in the league.

Newly signed Canadian striker Kyle Larraine scored the winning goal in the second half for 13th-placed Valladolid, who won twice in a row after five consecutive defeats in all competitions.

Valencia struggles

Valencia’s struggles continued after losing 1-0 to Girona, a result that extended their losing streak to five matches in all competitions.

Valencia have just one win in their last 12 league matches and sit outside the relegation zone.

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Girona moved to eleventh.






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