Raphinha’s second-half goal helped Barcelona edge out 10-man Las Palmas 1-0 to close the gap on LaLiga leaders Real Madrid to five points.
Barcelona saw two goals chalked off for offside and Robert Lewandowski hit the bar but Las Palmas had goalkeeper Alvaro Valles red carded for a crude challenge on Raphinha outside his box after 25 minutes.
Xavi’s side were unable to initially capitalise on the extra man but Joao Felix came off the bench and provided a delicately-weighted ball over the top for Raphinha to head into the net in the 59th minute.
Felix could have given Barcelona some breathing room but conspired to hit the goal frame from point-blank range. However, the hosts extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 11 matches.
The Catalan giants were far from their best against mid-table opposition who are now winless in their last half-dozen league games but they have kept pressure on Real, who welcome Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Barcelona started strongly on Saturday night as Lewandowski was flagged offside before chipping over and then again after slotting home in the fifth minute, denying him a 21st goal of the campaign.
They had the ball in the net once more after 20 minutes when Lewandowski bore down on goal before teeing up Raphinha, who slipped inside and slotted beyond Valles only for the assistant’s flag to go up.
While Raphinha was onside when given the ball by Lewandowski, the Brazilian was clearly offside when his team-mate was originally put through and VAR upheld the official’s original decision.
If the hosts felt hard done by, they were given a boost when Valles was given his marching orders after rushing out of his goal and upending Raphinha, who had sprung the offside trap as he tried to latch on to Sergi Roberto’s through ball.
Valles and Las Palmas bitterly protested referee Mateo Busquets’ red card but the goalkeeper got none of the ball before cleaning out Raphinha and VAR backed the decision, leaving the visitors down to 10 players for more than an hour.
The dismissal led to the withdrawal of Munir El Haddadi and introduction of Aaron Escandell, who was soon beaten by Lewandowski’s header but the frame of the goal came to the goalkeeper’s rescue.
Raphinha drilled wide but despite all their dominance, Barcelona were given a major scare on the stroke of half-time when Saul Coco’s free-kick flashed fractionally wide.
Felix was sent on for Fermin Lopez shortly after the resumption and the on-loan Atletico Madrid forward had a near instant impact as his deft chip behind the defence led to Raphinha sweeping in and heading beyond Escandell to finally break Las Palmas’ resistance.
Barcelona went in search of a second and another teasing delivery from Felix was met by fellow substitute Ferran Torres, although his effort was well saved by Escandell.
Felix blotted his copybook by thudding against the crossbar inside the six-yard area, with the ball cannoning off Escandell’s right leg, the post then the substitute goalkeeper’s left leg before being cleared.
That miss might have come back to haunt him had substitute Alberto Moleiro found the right side of the net after cutting inside and lashing towards goal, but Barcelona were able to hang on and remain within distance of Real with eight matches of the season remaining.
Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.
Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.
Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.
The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.
"I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.
"I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
"There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.
"This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."
Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.
"As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."
Rangnick turns down Bayern to stay in Austria job
Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he will remain in charge of Austria's national team beyond Euro 2024, having turned down Bayern Munich's interest.
Rangnick confirmed last week that Bayern had been in touch regarding the possibility of him taking over ahead of next season.
Bayern are aiming to fill an impending void, with current coach Thomas Tuchel set to leave the club at the end of the campaign.
But Rangnick has now confirmed he will be staying put, though he insisted he did not "reject" Bayern.
"I am national team coach of Austria with all my heart," he said in a statement released by the Austrian Football Association (OFB).
"This task brings me a lot of joy and I am determined to continue down the road we have started.
"I want to clearly stress that this is not a rejection of Bayern Munich but rather a decision for my team and our common goals."
"We are fully focused on the Euro. We will do everything we can to go far."
There have been calls from some Bayern fans for Tuchel to stay in charge, with some going as far as to sign a petition.
Bayern wanted to appoint Xabi Alonso as Tuchel's successor, but the former midfielder has elected to stay with Bayer Leverkusen.
While Leverkusen stormed to the Bundesliga title to end Bayern's 11-year dominance of the competition, Tuchel's team can still salvage silverware in the form of the Champions League.
Bayern head into the second leg of their semi-final tie with Real Madrid on the back of a 2-2 draw in Munich in Tuesday's first leg.
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
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