Result: FC Barcelona 1-0 Real Valladolid
Date: 05 April 2021
Venue: Camp Nou
FC Barcelona moved within a point of LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid thanks to Ousmane Dembele's late winner against Real Valladolid on Monday night.
Ronald Koeman named the same side that defeated Real Sociedad before the international break, as Frenkie De jong continued in defence alongside Clement Lenglet.
The visitors nearly got off to the perfect start when Saidy Janko's cross found Kenan Kodro, who saw his header crash against the crossbar with Marc-Andere ter Stegen beaten.
Messi went close for the home side after 16 minutes with aa curling free-kick that sailed just wide of the upright, as the hosts began to up the tempo.
After a lively start to the half, the tempo died down after the midway point despite the home side's dominance but the last chance of the half came just before the break.
Pedri pounced on a loose ball before unleashing a strike from distance that cracked upright post before goalkeeper Jordi Masip managed to clear the danger away.
Frustration began to grow for the home side in the second half, as Masip was on hand to keep out Ousmane Dembele's low strike before Griezmann fired over from the rebound.
Koeman opted for a triple change after the hour mark as Ronald Araujo, Trincao and Martin Braithwaite were introduced for Griezmann, Oscar Mingueza and Sergio Busquets.
While chances were hard to come by, Valladolid were dealt a blow in the 79th minute when Oscar Plano was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Dembele.
Barcelona made the numerical advantage count on 90 minutes when Aruajo's flick-on found Dembele who sent a powerful finish beyond Masip to send his side within a point of Atletico.
