Spain’s champions FC Barcelona are out of breath after winning the title prematurely in the final sprint of the league. Coach Xavi’s team lost 3-1 (2-0) to Real Valladolid, who were threatened with relegation, on Tuesday evening and thus also lost the second game after the championship celebration. Valladolid left the relegation zone for the time being with their eleventh win of the season and is now 17th in the table.
An early header own goal by Andreas Christensen (2′) and a converted penalty by Cyle Larin (22′) quickly put the hosts ahead. Eric Garcia had previously brought down Real attacking player Gonzalo Plata in the penalty area. After that, Barcelona had three chances in a row, but Robert Lewandowski (32nd) also just missed the goal. Gonzalo Plata made it 3-0 in the 73rd minute, Lewandowski at least scored the consolation goal in the 84th minute. Overall, the Catalans had a lot more chances in the first half but didn’t take advantage of them. It was Lewandowski’s 23rd goal and another step towards ‘pichichi’ for the league’s top scorer.
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In the second half, Xavi brought on substitute goalkeeper Iñaki Peña for the German national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. Barça put the pressure back on the offensive, but lacked the final punch until Lewandowski’s late goal. “It’s difficult to prepare for these games when the goal has already been achieved. The goals conceded came from two mistakes, the result is fair for Valladolid. It became apparent which team needed it much more,” said Xavi (quoted via “barcawelt.de”). Raphinha agreed: “Valladolid fought relegation and showed it today. We lacked character, intensity and the greed and will to win. We have to end the season strong now and show what made us stand out during the season.”
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