Barcelona/Bilbao:
Dani Ormo and Ferran Torres regained the lead in La Liga with a 2-0 victory at Las Palmas on Saturday.
After Atletico Madrid defeated Valencia and temporarily took pole position, the Catalans replaced them with a narrow victory on the road, sitting one point ahead of the Rogi Blancos.
Alternate Ormo produced a great finish before Torres went home to solve the game, earning Barca’s revenge early in the season due to a shock home defeat by Las Palmas.
The Champions Real Madrid, third could level up with points against Barcelona if they beat Girona at home on Saturday.
“We don’t feel pressured, we want to be on top.
“Today we have three important points, so we are back to happiness.”
Olmo has been much more distinctive since the club’s financial issues forced him to be unregistered at the beginning of the year, until Spain’s National Sports Council granted a temporary measure that allowed him to play again. I didn’t have it.
The former RB Leipzig star missed some games in January due to calf tension.
“I’m in good health. I’m 100% and I’m hoping to come back to the team and come back,” he added.
“I am happy to be able to play and my team is supporting me with goals.
“In the end, I want to score as many points as possible to help the team and keep winning. This is important.”
Barca was inaccurate in the tough attacks in the first half and was unable to find the quality needed to unlock the host’s defense.
Flick took action on the break and brought playmaker Dani Ormo in place of the quiet Fermin Lopez.
Spain International’s first contribution was a sloppy pass that took off from play, but he quickly found his focus.
Ramin Yamal skipped forward and slipped the ball over Ormo.
Las Palmas moved forward in search of an equalizer, and former Barca striker Sandro Ramirez narrowly put the effort in Wojciech Szczesny’s post.
On the other end, Yamal exploded into life, increasingly threatening, crossed for Robert Lewandowski, the league’s top goalscorer who headed the header straight for Jasper Sillessen.
As Polish veterans began to enjoy the extra space left behind by the hosts, Lewandowski fired after a good job of Alejandro Balde.
Las Palmas sued for a penalty when Shot put the back of Eric Garcia’s arm in the box, but Val showed there was an offside in the buildup.
An additional 8 minutes of stop time was added, and on top of that, the Las Palmas Heart was obtained, but it was Barcelona who attacked instead.
A loose pass behind was picked up by Rafinha. Rafinha fed Torres past Cylescent to the rifle, sealing Barcelona’s victory.
“I don’t think we played very well, we missed five or ten percent (from our best),” admitted Barca coach Flick.
“It wasn’t as serious as we normally would have wanted to play.”
In the defeat, Las Palmas came in 17th and left the level with points against Valencia, who was 18th in the relegation zone.
Athletic Bilbao maintains top 4 pace
Athletic Bilbao hit the real balladrid on bottom side 7-1 in LaLiga on Sunday, getting back on Champions League football next season.
Ernesto Valverde’s fourth side was ramping with San Mamems, where Spanish star Nico Williams scored twice in the victory.