Raphinha leads Barcelona’s win over Las Palmas

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BARCELONA, Spain, March 31, (AP): Raphinha helped to reduce Las Palmas to 10 men before scoring to lead Barcelona to a 1-0 victory in the Spanish league.

The Brazil winger was racing clear behind the defensive line when Las Palmas goalkeeper Álvaro Vallés raced out of his area and crashed into him, earning a direct red card in the 24th minute.
Las Palmas bunkered down in its area until Raphinha broke through in the 59th when he headed in a perfectly floated pass by substitute João Félix.

“These are three important points. We will keep fighting until the end and won’t give up until the league is over,” Raphinha said about the defending champion’s chances of overtaking Real Madrid.

The Spanish powerhouses will meet in the capital in three weeks after the Champions League quarterfinals, where Barcelona faces Paris Saint-Germain and Madrid faces Manchester City.
Félix had a great chance to add to the lead when Jules Koundé found him all alone at the far post, only for the Portugal forward to send his shot off the crossbar.

Despite being down a man, Alberto Moleiro almost equalized for the Canary Islands club in the final minutes when he hit the side netting.
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres returned as a second-half substitute for his first minutes since he injured his right thigh in late January.
With the league taking a break next weekend for the Copa del Rey final, Barcelona won’t play again until the opening leg of its matchup against PSG on April 10.

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