Barcelona are now seven points clear at the top of La Liga following a 1-0 victory over visiting Real Mallorca at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Tuesday night.
Barca boss Hansi Flick made seven changes to his starting XI – including a rare appearance for Ansu Fati, with an eye on Saturday’s Copa del Rey Final against rivals Real Madrid.
The hosts started the game well, bossing proceedings in the opening exchanges but Mallorca goalkeeper Leo Roman kept producing fine saves to deny Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres before the break, as the visitors hung on under intense pressure.
However, Mallorca’s resistance was broken only a minute after the restart as Dani Olmo fired home with a cool left-footed finish to give Barca the lead. The goal was Olmo’s ninth La Liga strike of the season.
Hansi Flick’s side continued to pile on the pressure and had to contend with Mallorca keeper Roman and his backline, who denied Barca from inside the penalty area four times in the space of 15 seconds.
Barcelona took a total of 40 shots – the most any La Liga side has attempted this season, while Mallorca failed to register any effort on target.
The Catalans could have been out of sight but for the heroics of Leo Roman, who produced 11 saves in total to keep his side in the contest.
In the end, there was nothing to deny Barcelona of a deserved win, which opened up a seven-point lead at the top of the table, with closest challengers Real Madrid playing Getafe on Wednesday.
As for Mallorca, they remain seventh on the log with 44 points, one ahead of Celta Vigo who have played one game less.