Barcelona kept their hunt for La Liga title alive by registering a 1-0 win against city rivals Espanyol on Monday. With this victory, Barcelona also condemned Espaynol to relegation from the top flight.
The only goal of the match was scored by Luis Suarez in the 56th minute. Barcelona’s young striker Ansu Fati was shown the red card for a reckless tackle five minutes after coming off the bench but Espanyol did not hold on to the numerical advantage for long as Pol Lozano was sent off after three minutes, also following a VAR review.
Barcelona now have 76 points after 35 games while Real Madrid are on top of La Liga table with 77 points. Real Madrid can widen the gap at the top if they manage to defeat Alaves on Friday.
Espanyol were relegated for the first time since booking a place in La Liga in 1994. They are currently at the bottom of the points table with 24 points after 35 games.
In another match of the day, Villarreal registered a 3-1 away win over Getafe to maintain their push for a spot in Champions League. With this win, Villarreal now have 57 points in their kitty and they are only three points behind Sevilla who occupy the final Champions League berth. Notably, Sevilla still have a game in hand. Getafe’s hopes of qualifying for Champions League are all but over as they are now at sixth place in the table with 53 points.
Elsewhere, Real Betis registered a comprehensive 3-0 win at home against Osasuna to avoid relegation. Betis are at 13th place with 41 points and have a 12-point lead over 18th-placed Real Mallorca.
Source: Zee News