L. Messi has scored a goal for Barcelona! Assist by Jordi Alba.
Alba’s chemistry with Messi is undeniable as the left-back once again provides an assist for the Argentina international.
MESSI GETS HIS GOAL! 3-1! It’s a phenomenal one-two pass inside the area with Alba which gets the captain free from his marker, before raising a thunderbolt of a shot into the roof of the net from close range, denying Cuellar any chance to get a palm to it!
90'
The fourth official indicates an additional seven minutes of added time! Cuellar's injury and the VAR check have certainly contributed to the long extension as the visitors are gifted a lifeline!
88'
As the match winds to a close, it seems unlikely that Leganes will do the unthinkable and steal a point from the match. As it stands, the visitors will stay 14th – passing up an opportunity to move into 11th.
86'
N. El Zhar enters the game and replaces Óscar Rodríguez.
Eraso enters the game and replaces Mikel Vesga.
Leganes make a change as Vesga is replaced by Eraso.
Its two changes as Rodriguez – who has not really been involved in the match – is dropped for El Zhar.
84'
Barcelona seem much more settled since the introduction of Messi who has, despite being on the pitch for less than 30 minutes, contributed a number of dangerous passes which has put the opposition defence under immense pressure.
80'
Cuellar is extremely unhappy as Messi lifts a pass forward for Suarez whose shot at goal is caught by the goalkeeper. After the save, the Leganes number one rushes off his line to play a pass – going into the shoulder of the Uruguay striker in the process. Cuellar is still clearly unhappy with the earlier goal, and he seems unafraid to show it.
78'
M. Santos enters the game and replaces M. Braithwaite.
Braithwaite, whose goal restored parity for 14 minutes, is removed in favour of Santos.
71'
L. Suárez has scored a goal for Barcelona!
SUAREZ SCORES TO MAKE IT 2-1 BUT IT’S GOING TO VAR! Messi smashes a shot towards goal and forces a brilliant flying save from Cuellar, but he’s only able to palm it up in the air. The Uruguay international comes steaming through from an onside position and pokes the ball past the goalkeeper and into the goal with a raised boot – but there is some controversy as it looks as though the striker’s boot made contact with the face of the goalkeeper! Will it stand?!
69'
Malcom enters the game and replaces O. Dembélé.
It’s a third change in five minutes for Barcelona who, after making a double-switch, are forced to take Dembele off for Malcom following the injury.
Minute
Description
68'
Dembele is off the pitch, limping around the touchline to get to his substitute’s bench. He is walking without the assistance of the medical staff, but it’s a heavy limp that makes any chance of a return to the fixture highly unlikely.
66'
Silva puts the ball out of play furiously as Barcelona players and supporters alike call for the match to be stopped – despite the Blaugrana not stopping it themselves when in possession. Dembele looks to be in serious need of treatment after a duel with Vesga which left the France international worse off.
64'
I. Rakitić enters the game and replaces Arthur.
L. Messi enters the game and replaces Carles Aleñá.
Valverde makes the match’s first substitution – sending Messi on in place of Alena.
Its two changes at once for Barcelona who also bring on Rakitic for Arthur.
61'
Rodriguez takes the free-kick and goes for goal despite the distance. It pops up easily into the arms of Ter Stegen who gets it out quick in order to push Barcelona into a counter-attack.
60'
Sergi Roberto gets yellow.
Roberto is shown a yellow card for a necessary foul, dragging Braithwaite back before he could enter the Barca penalty area on a counter.
57'
M. Braithwaite has scored a goal for Leganes! Assist by Y. En-Nesyri.
Braithwaite finally gets some decent service and he makes the most of it. Full credit to En-Nesyri however, whose assist for the goal was inch-perfect!
LEGANES SOMEHOW HAVE THE EQUALISER! 1-1! En-Nesyri flies down the left-hand flank with the ball, and Alba’s sliding intervention only takes him out of the play while pushing the winger forward. He then cuts it across the box for Braithwaite who taps it home from inside the six-yard box as he leaves both Barcelona centre-backs for dead!
56'
Alena finds Suarez with a wonderful pass towards the edge of the penalty area, but the striker slightly overruns the pass and can only check back to get it on his right – which allows Leganes’ defenders to track back. A rushed curler from Suarez misses the target narrowly as Leganes escape narrowly.
54'
Carles Aleñá gets yellow.
Alena is shown a yellow card for a wild slide tackle in midfield which has left Omeruo in some pain.
52'
The set-piece is clipped towards the back post for Pique to attack, but his header pops up and over the bar.
50'
Silva and Roberto engage in a physical battle outside the Leganes penalty area, and the Barcelona full-back is pushed over illegally – forcing the referee to award the hosts a free-kick.
47'
Braithwaite tries to get Leganes on the front foot after the restart, dribbling on the edge of the penalty area guarded tightly by Pique. The striker attempts a shot from a very acute angle, but can only put his effort high and wide of Ter Stegen’s goal.
46'
Barcelona get the match restarted from the kick-off!
45' +1
HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 1-0 LEGANES.
45'
The fourth official indicates one minute of added time at the end of the first half.
44'
COUTINHO GOES WELL-WIDE OF THE TARGET! Coutinho receives a pass in midfield from Alena who won possession back and immediately sprays it forward for Dembele. The goal-scorer pulls it back for Coutinho, but his first-time strike is put quite some distance away from Cuellar’s goal.
42'
Barcelona win yet another free-kick as Alena is taken down in midfield. The young midfielder has played very well in the first half, displaying fantastic vision and dribbling ability.
40'
Coutinho chips it forward into the penalty area for Suarez to chase, but Cuellar comes far out of his goal to attempt to collect the pass first. The goalkeeper goes to ground prompting Suarez to take a tumble, but the referee is not convinced, and neither is Valverde on the touchline who doesn’t protest the decision.
38'
How will Leganes respond to going a goal down? Known for their defensive stability, the visitors aren’t exactly the most convincing in attack – as the first half has shown. They’ll need to start leaving gaps at the back in pursuit of an equaliser, which could work to Barca’s advantage.
36'
The ball pings around in the Leganes penalty area before Coutinho is able to control it and attempt to take it past a defender – which he is unable to do as Nyom stands firm.
32'
O. Dembélé has scored a goal for Barcelona! Assist by Jordi Alba.
Alba is involved in yet another goal as his accurate pass allowed Dembele to shoot on target at the first time of asking.
BARCELONA TAKE THE LEAD WITH PRECISION! 1-0! Dembele jinks past two defenders on a counter-attack before laying it to the left for Alba and moving towards the penalty spot. The left-back cuts back a pass towards the edge of the area for Dembele whose first-time shot is placed excellently towards the far post, beating Cuellar in the process!
30'
K. Omeruo gets yellow.
Omeruo is the latest Leganes player to go into the book after stepping on the foot of Suarez after the play had gone.
29'
Barcelona come forward yet again but are finding very little space with which to work, as Leganes pack 10 men behind the ball, moving from left to right in unison. The creativity around the penalty area has been slightly lacking, as Coutinho has not been able to link the midfield and attack effectively.
27'
The forward does indeed go for goal, but the free-kick lacks the necessary power as it takes a bounce before springing into the grateful arms of Cuellar.
26'
Arthur wins a free-kick outside of the Leganes penalty area after Braithwaite shoved the midfielder from behind. It looks slightly too far out to hit on target, but Suarez stands over it intently.
24'
Alena finds Alba on the edge of the penalty area and the left-back sends a low pass towards goal looking for Suarez. The ball takes a touch off of Siovas and pops up – allowing the Uruguay international to hit a volley towards goal – though it fails to trouble Cuellar.
22'
Rodri Tarín gets yellow.
The third yellow card of the match is shown to Tarin for tugging back Coutinho on the left.
21'
En-Nesyri gets free on the left and cuts inside in front of Pique, but he horribly mishits his shot – sending it curling away from Ter Stegen’s goal.
19'
Despite the impressive resilience, it has to be said that this level of play seems unsustainable for Leganes who have had less than 20% possession in the 20 minutes since kick-off. Braithwaite has received no service whatsoever, having only touched the ball four times.
17'
Suarez hits a lovely switch for Dembele, who takes a wonderful touch to control it before passing it into the penalty area for nobody in particular. A nervous clearance delivers it to Coutinho just outside the box – but his cross for the centre-forward is overhit.
16'
Leganes have done well in the opening 15 minutes to prevent Barcelona from dominating the match. Little niggling fouls – of which the visitors have committed seven – have really broken up the play and frustrated the Blaugrana, who have seen most of their attacking success come down the right with Dembele.
14'
A one-two pass on the Barcelona right between Dembele and Roberto gets the full-back free, but his eventual cross is rushed and put into an area where Omeruo can clear it promptly.
12'
Sergio Busquets gets yellow.
Barcelona’s first yellow of the match goes the way of Busquets – who earns a caution for a flailing arm which caught the chin of En-Nesyri.
11'
Dembele wins back possession in the middle of the park and dribbles past four defenders before slipping a pass to the right for Roberto who losses possession in disappointing fashion.
8'
M. Braithwaite gets yellow.
The first yellow card of the match comes eight minutes into the contest as Braithwaite is booked for catching Pique with the point of his boot while attempting to control a high ball from defence.
7'
A pass backwards to Ter Stegen is met with some fancy footwork, but his distribution to the left is poor as the pass sails over the head of Alba and out for a Leganes throw-in. That's sloppy play early on from the home side.
5'
Coutinho looks to switch play to the right for Roberto after a good spell of possession but the pass is hit slightly too hard and the Spain international is unable to keep it in play with an outstretched leg, allowing Leganes to clear it with a goal-kick.
3'
Nyom slides in to try and win possession from Vermaelen, but his challenge puts the ball out for a throw. It’s a crunching early tackle from the Leganes wing-back who is no stranger to yellow cards.
1'
Leganes get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the LaLiga fixture between Barcelona and Leganes!
A 3-0 midweek victory over Levante secured Barcelona’s place in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey after losing the first leg 2-1; the Blaugrana’s only defeat since a 4-3 loss to Real Betis in November. That run of positive results has distanced the club from the rest of LaLiga’s chasing pack, with second-place Atletico Madrid two points behind having played a game more.
A 1-0 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday was not enough to see Leganes through into the next round of the cup as they failed to overturn a 3-0 deficit from the first leg. With only one loss in their last nine games in the league, however, it seems the Madrid-based club have hit a patch of form despite the recent disappointment.
BARCELONA SUBS: Lionel Messi, Nelson Semedo, Ivan Rakitic, Malcom, Jasper Cillessen, Arturo Vidal, Jeison Murillo.
BARCELONA XI (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Jordi Alba, Thomas Vermaelen, Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto; Arthur, Sergio Busquets, Carles Alena; Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, the team news has been confirmed! Let's start with the home side!
LEGANES SUBS: Gerard Gumbau, Vasyl Kravets, Nabil El Zhar, Andriy Lunin, Juanfran, Michael Santos, Javier Eraso.
LEGANES XI (5-2-3): Ivan Cuellar; Allan Nyom, Rodrigo Tarin, Kenneth Omeruo, Dimitrios Siovas, Jonathan Silva; Mikel Vesga, Recio; Martin Braithwaite, Oscar Rodriguez, Youssef En-Nesyri.
The Copa del Rey win was Barca’s second-consecutive 3-0 victory, as last Sunday’s fixture against Eibar ended with the same scoreline – partially thanks to Lionel Messi’s 400th LaLiga goal. The captain leads the league in scoring with 17 – eight of those coming in his last five appearances.
Leganes find themselves 14th in the table - highest of a group of four teams all currently on 22 points. Despite their bottom-half position, Mauricio Pellegrino’s team have put together a great first 19 matches defensively, conceding 21 times – a record bettered by only six clubs.
Leganes started the match fairly convincingly, moving in unison and defending in numbers. Their consistency and keen defending held Barcelona in check for roughly 30 minutes, before Dembele’s influence on the match proved too much for Pellegrino’s XI. They’ll need to dig deep and attack their opponents in the second half down a goal, though the statistics don’t look promising as Leganes have not scored more than once in a match since December 4 – eight matches ago.
Barcelona have dominated the match statistically, thoroughly out-possessing and out-shooting their visitors. Despite having the ball more than 70% of the time, Valverde’s side have been often frustrated with Leganes’ low block as they enter the interval only up 1-0. Despite facing a 10-man defence, the Blaugrana were eventually able to break the deadlock thanks to neat link-up play between Alba and Dembele; the latter of which was Barca’s most dangerous player in the first half.
That concludes our commentary of the LaLiga fixture between Barcelona and Leganes! We hope you enjoyed it!
Barcelona are in action once again on Wednesday when they travel to Sevilla for the first leg of their quarter-final Copa del Rey tie. Having been eliminated from the competition last week, Leganes will have six days to prepare for their next test – a home LaLiga match against Eibar on Saturday.
Commentary
More…