Own Goal Sends Barcelona Seven Points Clear with Narrow Win Over Leganes

Barcelona extended their lead at the top of La Liga to seven points on Saturday, thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory over Leganes, secured by an own goal from Jorge Saenz.

With Real Madrid set to face Alaves on Sunday, Hansi Flick’s side took full advantage, grinding out a crucial win at the Butarque Stadium to maintain momentum in their pursuit of a potential quadruple this season.

“This is the kind of game where the league is won,” said defender Eric Garcia to DAZN. “We’re exactly where we want to be—top of the table—and today we managed to widen the gap.”

The win marked Barcelona’s 24th consecutive unbeaten match in 2025, a remarkable turnaround from their earlier struggles, which included a 1-0 home defeat to Leganes back in December.

Leganes, sitting 19th in the table, set up defensively and frustrated the visitors for much of the match with tactical fouls and time-wasting. Despite fielding a strong starting XI, Barcelona struggled to create clear chances in a scrappy first half.

The best opportunity before the break fell to Leganes. Dani Raba raced down the left and squared for Adria Altimira, whose close-range effort was kept out by Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. At the other end, a deflected strike from Jules Kounde was parried away by Marko Dmitrovic.

Barcelona suffered an early setback with Alejandro Balde forced off before halftime due to injury. Flick responded by bringing on Frenkie de Jong at the break and shifting Garcia into central defence.

The breakthrough came shortly after the restart when Raphinha whipped in a low cross and Saenz, under pressure from Robert Lewandowski, inadvertently diverted the ball into his own net.

With Leganes forced to come out of their shell, Barcelona began to find more space. Fermin Lopez missed a golden chance to double the lead after battling his way into the box, while Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal both came close to adding a second.

Leganes thought they had equalised through Raba, but his header was ruled out for offside. Diego Garcia later spurned another promising opportunity, dragging his shot wide with the goal in sight.

In stoppage time, former Barca player Munir El Haddadi nearly snatched a dramatic point for the hosts, but Inigo Martinez’s last-ditch tackle preserved the win for the league leaders.

Leganes remain two points adrift of safety, and despite the loss, midfielder Renato Tapia remained optimistic: “It’s tough—we leave empty-handed against a Barca side that wasn’t at their best. But we showed we can fight, and I believe we can stay up.”