Barcelona maintained their grip on the La Liga summit and stretched their unbeaten run to 24 matches with a nervy 1-0 win at struggling Leganes, thanks to an unfortunate own goal from Jorge Saenz.
Hansi Flick’s side were far from fluent at Estadio Municipal de Butarque, needing a defensive mishap to secure all three points. Raphinha’s wicked low cross caused panic in the Leganes defence, and with Robert Lewandowski poised to pounce, Saenz inadvertently turned the ball into his own net.
Despite the defeat, relegation-threatened Leganes gave the league leaders a real scare. Adria Altimira and Dani Raba both tested Wojciech Szczesny in the opening half, with the latter narrowly missing twice as the hosts looked to repeat their surprise December victory over the Catalans.
Barcelona briefly steadied after taking the lead, but a lack of sharpness in front of goal kept the contest alive. Fermin Lopez squandered a glorious chance to double the advantage, while Diego Garcia and Raba both came close to levelling for Leganes, the latter having a goal ruled out for offside.
Lewandowski, still in search of his 100th Barça goal, went close with a glancing header late on, while Saenz nearly added a second own goal when he deflected another Raphinha cross just wide.
It was far from a convincing showing by the league leaders, who made just two changes from their 4-0 Champions League thrashing of Borussia Dortmund. However, they notched an eighth consecutive away win in all competitions and opened a seven-point gap over Real Madrid, who visit Alaves on Sunday.
Flick’s men now prepare for their Champions League quarter-final second leg in Germany, hoping to carry their unbeaten momentum into another decisive week.
