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Barcelona grabbed a hard-fought 1-0 La Liga victory over a dogged Real Valladolid side at the Camp Nou on Monday.
With the win, Barcelona won their sixth league game on the bounce to move to within a point of leaders Atletico Madrid.
In a hard-fought affair, relegation-threatened Real Valladolid defended tooth and nail as a much-vaunted Barcelona attack was kept quiet for almost the entire game.
However, Ousmane Dembele struck a 90th-minute winner to give Barcelona a last-gasp win.
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The result sees Barcelona move past Real Madrid into second place in the league table and maintain their unbeaten run in 2021. On that note, let's have a look at five talking points from the game.
#1 Barcelona fail to hit their stride after the international break
Barcelona went into the international break in emphatic form, extending their winning streak to five games with an emphatic 6-1 win over Real Sociedad.
However, Ronald Koeman’s men returned to the La Liga after the international break looking out of ideas against a struggling Real Valladolid side.
However, this win should stand them in good stead ahead of the much-anticipated El Classico next week.
#2 Real Valladolid put up defensive masterclass
Relegation-threatened Real Valladolid put on a defensive masterclass as they looked all set to force a share of the spoils at the Camp Nou before Dembele's late intervention.
The visitors remain 16th in the table, just three points above the drop zone.
In a keenly-fought affair, Barcelona struggled to conjure enough scoring opportunities against a resolute Valladolid defence.
Considering how the game panned out, a draw probably would have been the fairer result. Eventually, that was not to be, as the Blaugrana grabbed all three points and stay alive in the La Liga title race.
Real Valladolid can take heart from their Camp Nou performance and look to build on it to help avoid the drop.
#3 Ousmane Dembele continues superb form for Barcelona
French forward Ousmane Dembele continued his superb form for Barcelona by grabbing the only goal of the game against a resilient Real Valladolid side.
The 23-year-old, who was out for most of last season, has been a key man for Barcelona so far.
His impressive outings for Barcelona earned him his first call-up in three years to the French national team, for whom he bagged a goal against Kazakstan.
Dembele has now scored five goals in his last ten games for club and country. Barcelona will hope the Frenchman can keep up this superb run as they aim to win their first La Liga title in two years.
#4 Barcelona are back in the La Liga title race
Following the appointment of Ronald Koeman as head coach, Barcelona started their 2020-21 campaign with four losses and four draws in their first 14 La Liga games.
However, they have been superb since then, picking up 14 wins and one draw since their 2-1 loss to Cadiz in December. Barcelona are now the only unbeaten side in Europe’s top five leagues this year.
This impressive run has seen Barcelona surge up the league table. Barcelona have now reduced the gap with leaders Atletico Madrid to just a solitary point after the Rojilancos fell to a defeat at Sevilla.
#5 Barcelona grab key win ahead of crucial El Classico clash
Barcelona's hard-earned win over Real Valladolid should be a huge boost when they travel to defending champions Real Madrid on Saturday.
Both sides are separated by only two points in the La Liga table. Real Madrid are third with 63 points from 29 games, while Barcelona are second with 65.
With Atletico Madrid dropping points in recent games, a win in the El Clasico could see Barcelona take the lead for the first time in an enticing La Liga title race this season.
