Barcelona beat Mallorca to extend LaLiga lead over Real Madrid

LaLiga leaders Barcelona move seven points clear of defending champions Real Madrid with near defeat of Mallorca.

Dani Olmo scored early in the second half as Barcelona defeated Mallorca 1-0 to increase their Spanish league lead.

The home win on Tuesday gave the Catalan club a seven-point lead over Real Madrid, which visits Getafe on Wednesday.

Barcelona and Madrid will meet in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday in Seville.

Olmo’s winner came a minute into the second half at the Montjuic stadium, with the playmaker finding the net from inside the area.

Barcelona’s Dani Olmo scores their first goal [Albert Gea/Reuters]

It was the third consecutive victory for Barcelona in the league.

Mallorca, which has only two wins from its last nine matches, stayed in seventh place.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick made several changes to his starting lineup, with forward Ansu Fati making his first league start in nearly six months. Striker Robert Lewandowski was absent because of a muscle injury.

Earlier Tuesday, Espanyol’s three-game winning streak ended with a 1-1 draw at Valencia, which has drawn two in a row after three straight victories.

The result left both teams tied on 39 points, though Espanyol has a game in hand. Valencia was in 14th place, just behind Espanyol.

Also Wednesday, Celta Vigo hosts fifth-place Villarreal, and Las Palmas visits fourth-place Athletic Bilbao. Relegation-threatened Alaves welcomes ninth-place Real Sociedad.

On Thursday, third-place Atletico Madrid hosts midtable Rayo Vallecano, while sixth-place Real Betis visits last-place Valladolid, which has lost 12 of its last 13 matches.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies