Raphinha shines for FC Barcelona with a great header as they win 1-0 in La Liga

FC Barcelona defeated Las Palmas 1-0 at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in La Liga. FC Barcelona now has 67 points in La Liga and is 5 points below Real Madrid, which still has a game in hand. Real Madrid will play their game in hand against Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona will have more than ten days to rest as their next game will be in the Champions League against PSG at the Parc des Princes.

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Early in the game, Las Palmas had a few occasions on goal, but the Catalan side quickly turned things around, and the momentum was on their side. Robert Lewandowski was close to scoring in the 16th minute as his shot was saved by Las Palmas keeper Valles. In the 19th minute, Raphinha scored, but the goal was ruled off for offside. VAR took a look at the play and stuck with his decision, which too many were wrong. In the 24th minute, Las Palmas keeper fouls Raphinha outside the box and receives a red card. Las Palmas was left with 10 men.

Lewandowski had a header hit the crossbar as they were getting closer to the opener. Just before halftime, Raphinha kicked his effort wide in the box, and it stayed 0-0 in the first 45 minutes. In the second half, the team looked better with the substitution of Joao Felix in the 56th minute. He made his impact known only three minutes on the pitch.

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Raphinha scores a great header in the box to give FC Barcelona the win

In the 59th minute, Joao Felix cuts inside in the middle of the pitch and chips a great pass in the box to an unmarked Raphinha. The Brazilian runs onto the ball with a header that goes into the top left corner of the net. Joao Felix had the chance to score himself in the 77th minute from close range, but his shot hit the crossbar. Las Palmas threatened to score the equalizer late in the game, but Barcelona held on till the full-time whistle and grabbed an important win.