Barcelona scraped a 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened Leganes on Saturday, thanks to an own goal that helped preserve its lead in La Liga.
In the 48th minute, Leganes' central defender Jorge Saenz attempted to intercept a pass from Raphinha intended for Robert Lewandowski, only to accidentally deflect it into his own net, delivering the game's lone goal.
The blunder overshadowed a strong showing from the hosts, who created more scoring opportunities than the league leaders.
With the hard-fought win, Barcelona now holds a seven-point advantage over Real Madrid, which faces Alaves on Sunday.
Seven rounds remain in the season, including a highly anticipated "clasico" next month.
"These games are where leagues are won,” Barcelona’s Eric Garcia said. "It was a night to put the pressure on Madrid.”
Leganes shocked Barcelona 1-0 in December during a dip in form by the Catalan club.
But since the start of 2025, Barcelona has gone 24 games without a loss and is in the running for a treble of titles, including the Copa del Rey, where it has reached the final against Madrid in two weeks.
Hansi Flick’s side kept up its momentum before visiting Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, aiming to make good on its 4-0 first-leg win in their Champions League quarterfinal.
Like their first match this season, Leganes’ five-man backline frustrated the lauded attack of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha at Butarque Stadium.
At the other end, Barcelona struggled with counterattacks led by striker Daniel Rabaseda.
Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny did well to block a shot by Adria Altimira set up by Rabaseda.
Raphinha had to hustle back to make a last-gasp dive to poke away a dangerous pass destined for Rabaseda in front of the goal just before halftime.
Alejandro Balde left with an apparent leg problem in the first half, but his replacement, Gerard Martin, helped decide the match when he stole a ball and sparked the quick attack that finished with Saenz's own goal.
Flick said that Balde "was not so good" but added that the team would have to wait to see what Sunday’s medical exam of the player determined to see if he would be available for the return leg in Dortmund.
Far from rolling over, Leganes continued to threaten. Substitute Diego Garcia sliced a shot just wide of the far post, and Inigo Martinez had to disrupt a good scoring chance by Munir El Haddadi in injury time.
"We leave with our hands empty after having played well against a Barca that wasn’t as effective as usual,” Leganes defender Renato Tapia said.
