Full time: Valladolid 0-1 Barcelona
Peep peep! Barcelona keep their slim title hopes alive with a laboured victory over Valladolid. It looked like it would be a comfortable night when Arturo Vidal blasted them ahead in the 15th minute, but their attacking play got worse as the game progressed and Valladolid caused them a few problems in the second half. Gerard Pique was terrific and Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a fine save from the substitute Enes Unal. Thanks for your company, night!
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90+1 min Sandro’s firm shot from a tight angle is beaten away at the near post by ter Stegen. It was a fairly comfortable save for a keeper of his class, but still an important one.
90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
90 min Suarez plays a nice one-two-three with Messi, only to fall over in the area.
89 min Barcelona look comfortable defensively. Pique has had a fine second half.
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85 min For the first 20 minutes, Barcelona were electric. Since then they’ve been pedestrian at best.
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84 min Waldo Rubio’s terrific cross is palmed away unconvicingly by the stretching ter Stegen, who is relieved to see it fall to Jordi Alba rather than a Valladolid player.
82 min Valladolid appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty when the ball bounces up to hit the body of Semedo. It did hit his bicep, I think, but it was tight to his body.
81 min Waldo’s sharp cutback is cleared as far as Perez, whose shot is blocked by Rakitic.
81 min Messi hooks a brilliant pass over the defence to find Suarez on the left. He runs at Moyano and then leaves the ball behind. Suarez has looked well off the pace.
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80 min Another Valladolid change. Oscar Plano is replaced by Waldo Rubio.
78 min Time for a drinks break. Jordi Alba has been booked for dissent.
76 min This is a good spell for Barcelona, who are passing the clock down. Rakitic’s corner is headed down by Pique and claimed by Masip. Pique thought he was fouled by Sanchez; the referee didn’t.
74 min Barcelona make another change, with Junior Firpo on Busquets.
72 min Busquets stabs a good pass to Suarez, who seems to be fouled by the sliding Sanchez on the left side of the area. The referee isn’t interested. I thought that was a penalty, albeit soft.
70 min Plano runs at Semedo and wins a corner for Valladolid. It’s taken short to Nacho, whose cross is headed up in the air by the under pressure Unal and cleared by Pique.
66 min ter Stegen makes a comfortable diving side from another Unal header. Barcelona are asking for trouble with this listless second-half performance.
65 min Kike Perez is booked for a foul on Sergi Roberto.
63 min Messi’s free-kick is pushed over the bar by Masip, a relatively comfortable save.
61 min Another change for Valladolid: Sandro Ramirez, once of Barcelona, replaces Guardiola.
60 min: Excellent save from ter Stegen! The substitutes almost combined to equalise for Valladolid. Hervias’s deep free-kick from the right was headed back across goal by Unal, and ter Stegen dived a long way to his left to push it away.
58 min Perez whistles a shot well wide from 25 yards. Valladolid are still well in this game, though, and that looked unlikely after 20 minutes.
57 min A double change for Barcelona: Ivan Rakitic and Ronald Araujo replace Lenglet and Riqui Puig.
54 min “Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “Expanding on Phil Podolsky’s Wikipedia gander (34 min.), I was delighted to learn that the owner and president of Real Valladolid is none other than Ronaldo (O Fenômeno, the original recipe). It would surely liven things up if he were to somehow amble down from the luxury box, squeeze into a kit and take the pitch as owner-president-player against his old team.”
I bet he could still go past a goalkeeper with a stepover, even now.
52 min Unal’s long-range shot kicks up awkwardly in front of ter Stegen, who holds it comfortably nonetheless.
51 min It’s quite an open game now, with Valladolid showing more attacking intent since half-time.
49 min After good play from Messi and Sergi Roberto, Riqui Puig’s shot takes a slight deflection and is comfortably saved by Masip.
47 min Ruben Alcaraz is the other player who has gone off for Valladolid.
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46 min Valladolid begin the second half.
Half-time substitutions
Valladolid Enes Unal and Pablo Hervias on, Joaquin and [redacted] off.
Barcelona Luis Suarez on, Griezmann off.
Half-time reading
Half time: Valladolid 0-1 Barcelona
Peep peep! A comfortable half for Barcelona, even if there was a whiff of complacency after Arturo Vidal thumped them into the lead in the 15th minute. Semedo and Griezmann missed excellent chances to make it 2-0, while Perez fluffed Valladolid’s only opportunity.
45+2 min Busquets stretches to make an important interception just outside the Barcelona area.
45+1 min Four minutes of added time.
45 min Alcaraz is booked for a nasty tackle on Vidal.
42 min A good effort from Messi, who zips away from a couple of defenders and drives a low shot just wide from the edge of the area. In fact it took a deflection off Moyano and Barcelona have a corner. It’s worked nicely by Jordi Alba and Messi, who is tackled desperately on the left side of the area by Guardiola.
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40 min Lenglet is booked for a foul on Plano.
37 min: Chance for Valladolid! That came out of nothing. Masip’s long punt was headed on unwittingly by Lenglet, and suddenly Perez was through on goal. He lumbered into the area, away from Pique, but overran the ball slightly and had to stretch to hit a shot that he miskicked straight at ter Stegen. Perez fell very awkwardly as he stretched for the ball, with his knee getting stuck in the pitch, and he could easily have suffered a serious injury.
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34 min “Took a gander at Valladolid’s Wikipedia page,” says Phil Podolsky. “Apparently Mr. Ben Arfa is a squad member. Was wondering how he’s been. What a talent. His Wikipedia photo is from the Cannes red carpet for some reason.”
32 min Time for a drinks break.
30 min Riqui Puig has been very perky in midfield. He burts into the area, onto Messi’s pass, and crosses low towards Griezmann. Masip dives to his right to push the ball away. That was a vital interception, without which Griezmann would have had an open goal.
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29 min Plano’s long-range shot is blocked by Lenglet. Valladolid have had a bit more of the ball in the last 10 minutes, though Barcelona are still well on top.
24 min: Good save from Masip! Barcelona are in total control here. Busquets slices the defence open with a superb angled pass to Semedo, who moves into the area and cracks a shot that is well stopped at the near post by Masip.
24 min Raul Garcia is going off injured after a challenge from Vidal. Nacho replaces him.
22 min Sergi Guardiola’s speculative long-range shot drifts a few yards wide. Valladolid are struggling to spend any quality time in the Barcelona half.
19 min: Griezmann misses a sitter! Barcelona should be 2-0 up. Messi played a good return pass to Semedo, whose low cross somehow found its way to the unmarked Griezmann at the far post. He swung at it with his right foot and missed his kick completely.
18 min Jordi Alba fouls Perez just outside the area, to the right of centre. Alcaraz hits a tame free-kick into the wall.
GOAL! Valladolid 0-1 Barcelona (Vidal 15)
It’s been coming. Messi flicks a cute little pass to Vidal, who hammers the bouncing ball across Masip and in off the far post from 15 yards. That’s a fine finish.
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11 min Griezmann moves into the area on the left, onto a good pass from Jordi Alba, but he can’t decide what to do and the attack peters out.
10 min Barcelona are dominating possession; I’d imagine it’s around 70 per cent. Valladolid are very narrow defensively and so far Barcelona haven’t been able to find an eye in the needle.
7 min Joaquin plunges his studs into the ankle of Vidal, who spends 30 seconds on the canvas as a result. He seems to be okay.
5 min The first chance for Barcelona. Semedo breaks into the area from the right and cuts the ball back to Riqui Puig, who opens his body to sidefoot a first-time shot towards goal. Masip gets down to his right to make a comfortable save.
3 min Scratch that, Barcelona are playing 3-5-2 with Sergi Roberto at centre back. Valladolid have started with a midfield diamond.
2 min Barcelona’s formation is actually a straight 4-4-2, with Sergi Roberto at right-back, Semedo in front of him and Riqui Puig on the left of midfield.
1 min Peep peep! Barcelona, in their yellow away strip, kick off from right to left. Valladolid are wearing purple and white stripes.
Valladolid are 14th and almost certain to play in La Liga next season. A win tonight would confirm it.
Pre-match reading
Team news
Luis Suarez, who scored the winner against Espanyol on Wednesday, is only on the bench for Barcelona. They have just seven substitutes, and two of them are goalkeepers.
Valladolid (4-D-2) Masip; Moyano, Olivas, Sanchez, Garcia; Joaquin; San Emeterio, Alcaraz; Perez; Guardiola, Plano.
Substitutes: Caro, Antonito, Alende, Nacho, Matheus, Hervias, Villa, Garcia, Waldo, Sandro, Unal, Miguel.
Barcelona (3-1-4-2) ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet; Busquets; Semedo, Vidal, Riqui Puig, Jordi Alba; Griezmann, Messi.
Substitutes: Neto, Arnau, Araujo, Firpo, Rakitic, Braithwaite, Suarez.
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Preamble
Time is running out for Barcelona. They’re four points behind Real Madrid with three games to go – and Real have the better head-to-head record. That means if Barcelona fail to win at Valladolid tonight, Madrid will have the chance to clinch the title at Granada on Monday.
All Barcelona can do is win their last three games and hope Real fail to win two of theirs. Stranger things have happened in La Liga title races, as Barcelona know from the Johan Cruyff era. It’s a long shot, though, and if Barcelona do fail to win the league their away form will be to blame. They’ve taken only 26 out of 51 available points on the road. They certainly can’t afford to drop any more tonight.
Kick off 6.30pm BST, 7.30pm CEST.
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