MADRID — Ilkay Gundogan stroked home a stoppage time penalty to grab champions Barcelona a barely deserved 2-1 win at Las Palmas in the Spanish La Liga.
Xavi Hernandez’s side badly needed to win after leaders Real Madrid and Girona did so, with victory leaving the Catalans seven points behind the top two.
Athletic Bilbao is fourth after a solid 2-0 win at Sevilla, with Atletico Madrid fifth following their dramatic 4-3 defeat by Girona.
Barca was at times outplayed by the mid-table Canary Islanders, who took the lead through former Blaugrana striker Munir el-Haddadi in the 12th minute.
Ferran Torres pulled Barcelona level in the second half and Gundogan netted the winner from the spot after he was shoved over in the box when poised to head into an empty net.
“In the first half they had two or three chances but in the second half they only had a corner,” Xavi told Movistar.
“I think we made good substitutions and that told,” he added according to AFP.
Sevilla’s struggles continued into the new year with home loss to Bilbao in the Spanish La Liga, followed by Sergio Ramos getting into a verbal spat with a fan in his post-match interview.
The veteran defender was talking to a television reporter by the sideline when he angrily responded to a fan who was apparently yelling at him from the stands.
“Have some respect, we are talking. Respect the fans and the shield. Respect the fans and shut up now,” Ramos yelled according to AP.
“We have to endure everything. It’s the situation now,” he told the reporter. “We understand the frustration of the fans, it’s normal. It’s been a long time without winning, without giving them some happiness.”
It was the fifth defeat in Sevilla´s last six matches in all competitions, leaving the traditional club from southern Madrid in 16th place, one point from the relegation zone.
Sevilla has only one win in its last 13 league matches – at second-to-last-place Granada in December.
Mikel Vesga and Aitor Paredes scored a goal in each half for Athletic, which jumped to third place with its third straight league victory.
Athletic was already without forward Inaki Williams, who will play with Ghana in the upcoming African Cup of Nations.
At the halfway point, Real Madrid and Girona are tied on 48 points each, with Madrid ahead on a tiebreaker. Madrid defeated Mallorca 1-0, while Girona beat fourth-place Atletico Madrid 4-3.
Osasuna, meanwhile, won 1-0 against last-place Almeria, the only team yet to win in the league this season.
Ante Budimir scored a 27th-minute winner for Osasuna, which has won two of its last three matches after a six-match winless run.
It was the 14th league loss for Almeria, whose only victory this season came against lower-division club Talavera in the Copa del Rey.
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