Dembele volley takes Barca closer to Atletico

Ousmane Dembele struck in stoppage time to snatch a vital 1-0 home victory against Real Valladolid in La Liga on Monday to pull Barca one point behind leaders Atletico Madrid.

Valladolid produced a disciplined yet bold performance and could have taken an early lead when Kenan Kodro headed against the bar, while Roque Mesa had two clear sights at goal from outside the box but failed to hit the target each time.

Barca came close to scoring right before halftime when their former goalkeeper Jordi Masip palmed a strike from Pedri onto the post.

The keeper thwarted Dembele in the second half and then watched on in relief as Antoine Griezmann headed the rebound just wide.

The Catalans were dealt a helping hand when Valladolid’s Oscar Plano was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute for a tackle from behind on Dembele.

The sending-off was fiercely protested by the visitors, who had appealed for a penalty earlier in the second half when the ball struck the hand of Barca defender Jordi Alba. However, the referee decided the handball was accidental after a VAR review.

Barca finally took advantage of having an extra man when French forward Dembele caught a loose ball in the air with his left foot, slamming it inside the near post.

A sixth consecutive league win for Ronald Koeman’s side took them back into second place and moved them on to 65 points, two above third-placed Real Madrid and one behind Atletico, who were beaten 1-0 at Sevilla on Sunday.

ARR