Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres came off the bench to rescue a 2-0 win for Barcelona at Las Palmas on Saturday that sent them back to the top of the LaLiga table after a game that is unlikely to live long in the memory.
Barcelona now lead on 54 points, one ahead of Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid are third on 51 but have a game in hand and will host Girona on Sunday.
Both sides were largely toothless in attack in a slow-paced match and struggled to produce good goal-scoring opportunities, before Barca finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute with a shot from inside the box by Olmo.
Torres added the second goal at the death, taking advantage of a mistake by the home side’s defence to fire a strike from close range five minutes into added time.
“There is no pressure, we are still in the driver’s seat and it’s up to us to keep it that way,” Olmo told Spanish TV Movistar Plus.
“I’m very happy to help our team take three points that were very important in the title race against a Las Palmas side that defend very well.
“They block passing lanes inside and we have to be a bit more patient to find our way to the goal. In the second half we had more chances and in the end we took this valuable win.”
An early effort from Las Palmas’s Sandro that was denied by keeper Wojciech Szczesny suggested that the Canary Island fans were in for an exciting game, but the two sides quickly cancelled each other out.
Barca manager Hansi Flick brought Olmo off the bench to replace midfielder Fermin Lopez after the break and his decision paid off in the 62nd minute with a goal.
Olmo collected a good pass by Lamine Yamal inside a crowded box and made a quick cut from right to left to open up just enough space so that he could fire a bullet strike that ricocheted off the crossbar before crossing the goal line.
Las Palmas were left fuming over a handball by Barca defender Eric Garcia inside the box in the 80th minute, appealing for a penalty. But after a long VAR review, the referee invalidated the play for an offside in the build-up.
Barca killed off the game after Las Palmas made a silly mistake putting the ball in play in the 95th minute, with Raphinha quickly passing to Torres who fired an unstoppable left-footed strike into the goal.
