Raphinha's early header gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Valencia on Sunday, moving them nine points ahead of Real Madrid in the La Liga standings. Barcelona did this while playing with ten men.
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Later at the Benito Villamarin, in an enthralling 0-0 stalemate with Real Betis, the champions could not find a way through.
Raphinha, a Brazilian winger, gave Barca the lead in the 16th minute. Yet after Ronald Araujo's red and Ferran Torres missed a penalty, the hosts remained battling tooth and nail for the three points.
Araujo's dismissal in the 59th minute forced them to withdraw, but they managed to defeat Ruben Baraja's Valencia, currently in 19th place and two points from safety.
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Following two straight losses, Barcelona defeated Madrid 1-0 in an initial round of the Copa del Rey semifinal on Thursday. This close victory seemed a critical step toward a first league championship since 2019.
The Catalans did just enough to win without their leading scorer Robert Lewandowski, midfield masters Pedri and Gavi, and winger Ousmane Dembele.
Valencia, who are in 19th place and two points from safety, is led by Ruben Baraja.
Valencia held off early pressure from Barcelona but crumbled as Raphinha met a lofted pass from Sergio Busquets into the area with a smart move and a header over Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Valencia had a great opportunity in the first half that Samuel Lino wasted. When Hugo Guillamon called for a handball, Barcelona should have scored early in the second half and gone two goals ahead.
Ansu Fati also wanted the penalty, but Torres snatched the ball to take it anyway. The two then exchanged insults, which put more pressure on Torres, who then struck the post.
Moments later, Fati struck the post, and Jules Kounde's error left Barcelona down to 10 players.
Hugo Duro could advance thanks to the head back to his own goal by the French defender. Araujo hauled the striker down and lost his cool.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who preserved his 18th La Liga clean sheet of the season, was not troubled by Valencia's siege on Barcelona.
When Franck Kessie collided with Fran Perez, the visitors may have had a late penalty, but the referee dismissed their frantic — and not without merit — protestations.
Madrid Loses;
current champions Madrid created more opportunities against Betis, but they could not score the goal that would have kept them as close to Barcelona as feasible.
While Betis goalkeeper Claudio Bravo made excellent saves to keep Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema off the board, the French forward had a free-kick strike disallowed.
A strong display by Betis, who demonstrated why they are a contender for a Champions League spot for next season, also pushed Thibaut Courtois into two outstanding stops.
