Dembele volley takes Barca to just one single point behind Atletico
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele struck in stoppage time to snatch a essential 1-0 win in the home to Real Valladolid in La Liga on Monday to pull his side one point behind leaders Atletico Madrid.
Valladolid produced a disciplined yet bold performance and could have taken an early on lead when Kenan Kodro headed against the bar, while Roque Mesa had two clear sights at goal from beyond your box but didn't hit the target every time.
Barca came near scoring before halftime when their former goalkeeper Jordi Masip palmed a strike from Pedri on to the post.
The keeper thwarted Dembele in the next half and watched on in relief as Antoine Griezmann headed the rebound just wide.
The Catalans were dealt a helping hand when Valladolid's Oscar Plano was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute for a tackle from behind on Dembele.
The sending off was fiercely protested by the visitors, who had appealed for a penalty earlier in the next half when the ball struck the hand of Barca defender Jordi Alba. However, the referee made the decision the handball was accidental after a VAR review.
Barca finally took benefit of having an extra man when French forward Dembele caught a loose ball in the air along with his left foot, slamming it inside the near post.
A sixth consecutive league win for Ronald Koeman's side took them back into second place and moved them on to 65 points, two above third-placed Real Madrid and one behind Atletico, who were beaten 1-0 at Sevilla on Sunday.
"This shows how difficult this league is and that we'll need to really fight atlanta divorce attorneys game to win it," said Barca defender Clement Lenglet.
"We faced a great side who played out of their skin, it was an extremely difficult game for all of us but a crucial victory. This run is all down to effort, things weren't clicking for all of us earlier in the season however now they are."
Valladolid keeper Masip explained his side left the Camp Nou "with a bittersweet taste", feeling happy with their performance but aggrieved at not earning a point, especially after having Plano sent off.
"It's a real shame that that effort was thrown away as a result of a one-off incident," he added.
