BARCELONA, Spain (AP) 鈥 Raphinha and Ferm铆n L贸pez saved Barcelona from a stumble at relegated Valladolid on Saturday, helping it close on the La Liga title before a crunch Champions League match at Inter Milan.
Halftime substitute Raphinha canceled out Valladolid鈥檚 first-half opener in the 54th minute. L贸pez continued his quietly superb season by bagging the winner six minutes later for a 2-1 road victory.
Hansi Flick played with fire by rotating his starting XI ahead of Tuesday鈥檚 trip to Milan, where Barcelona and Inter will see which can tip the balance in their semifinal after delivering a this week in Spain.
鈥淚 am happy that we won the three points, but I am also happy that some players had less minutes before the important match against Inter on Tuesday,鈥 Flick said.
Even though his team was trailing 0-1 at halftime, Flick stuck to his plan to play only top midfielder Pedri Gonz谩lez for the first half before replacing him with Frenkie de Jong. First-choice center backs Pau Cubars铆 and 脥帽igo Mart铆nez didn’t play.
Yamal and Raphinha spark comeback
Valladolid made a surprising start when Iv谩n S谩nchez鈥檚 shot deflected off Ronald Ara煤jo, hit the turf and looped over goalkeeper , who was making his first start since recovering from a right knee injury in September.
Barcelona was stalled until replaced injured debutant Daniel Rodr铆guez, whose first game ended after just over half an hour when he hurt his right arm.
Raphinha replaced an ineffective Ansu Fati at halftime. The Brazil forward, who has for Barcelona this season, drilled in a loose ball after goalie Andr茅 Ferreira punched a cross by Yamal to the edge of the area. Ferm铆n followed up moments later with a precise, low strike into the corner.
Yamal had a goal-bound shot saved on the line by Valladolid’s Antonio Candela in the 80th. The 17-year-old also delivered the dribble of the match, when he spun with the ball to twirl past two defenders.
Barcelona opened a seven-point gap over Real Madrid, which it beat last weekend in the to launch its bid for a treble.
Madrid hosts Celta Vigo on Sunday. After this round there will be four games left, including a clasico in Barcelona next weekend.
Ter Stegen returns
鈥淚 was really eager to play and enjoy being on the field. And there is no better way to return than with a win,鈥 Ter Stegen said on his first appearance in seven months. 鈥淲e are keeping up the momentum ahead of some spectacular games.鈥
Flick had said that Ter Stegen would see some action in La Liga but that Wojciech Szczesny will continue to play in the Champions League.
Defender Andreas Christensen made his first start of the season in defense after a long injury absence.
Barcelona midfielder Gavi P谩ez asked to be substituted late in the game. It is unclear if it was due to muscle cramps or a possible injury. Barcelona already has striker Robert Lewandowski, right back Jules Kound茅 and left back Alejandro Balde on its injury list.
Protest against Ronaldo
Valladolid was relegated last week after winning just four of 33 games before Barcelona came to the city in north-western Spain.
Valladolid鈥檚 disgruntled fans protested against club owner, Brazil and Real Madrid great Ronaldo, before and during the Barcelona game. Supporters waved fliers that looked like 500-euro notes with the face of Ronaldo and the message in English 鈥淩onaldo go home鈥 on them before tossing them toward the turf. They also chanted for him to leave.
Other results
Third-placed Atletico Madrid drew at Alav茅s 0-0 as Diego Simeone was left five points behind fierce rival Real Madrid.
Ayoze P茅rez’s double led Villarreal to a 4-2 win over Osasuna and reinforced its hold on fifth place, which next season will earn a Champions League berth. Real Betis, in sixth, was four points behind with a game in hand.
Hugo Duro scored twice for Valencia as it won at Las Palmas 3-2 and kept the Canary Islands club in the relegation zone.
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