FC Barcelona ended the first half of the Spanish football league in first place. With a 1-0 (0-0) win at FC Girona on Saturday (01/28/2023), Real Madrid can no longer oust their eternal rivals from the top on matchday 19 of La Liga.
Without his suspended centre-forward Robert Lewandowski, Barca handed a frugal performance to the win at the underdog. Pedri, who came on for the injured Ousmane Dembélé, scored the decisive goal in the second half (67th minute). In his 100th competitive game for the Catalans, Pedri was spot on after Girona’s goalkeeper slipped a sharp cross from Jordi Alba into the centre.
Shortly before the end, Barcelona were lucky that the hosts were unable to use a defensive error from close range to equalize (86th). The leaders secured their third 1-0 win in a row and goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen kept a clean sheet for the 14th time in his 18th league appearance.
With 47 points and 37:6 goals, Barca is still in first place ahead of Real Madrid, who will host third-placed Real Sociedad San Sebastian in the top game on Sunday evening (9 p.m. in the live ticker at sportschau.de).
Seville wins against bottom
Sevilla FC took a step away from the relegation zone. Goals from Youssef En-Nesyri (29′, 45’+4′) and Marcos Acuna (43′) meant a 3-0 victory against FC Elche at the bottom. Seville climbed to 13th place for the time being.