This Saturday, Real Valladolid welcomed Barcelona for matchday 36 of La Liga. At the Jose Zorrilla Stadium, the Catalan club had a lot of difficulties but ended up beating the hosts by a simple 1-0. The only goal of the match was scored by Arturo Vidal.
Those who only watched the beginning of the match will probably say that it was an easy match for Barca. That’s because, even with a few changes made by manager Quique Setien in the squad, they were playing well and had total control of the ball. It was not a surprise when, at the 15th minute, they broke the deadlock. Vidal received the ball from Lionel Messi and hit a strong shot in the far post. No chances to goalkeeper Jordi Masip.
After that, the visitors kept on controlling the game. Honestly, Valladolid were not able to give at least a single shot in the first half. So, with that, Barca went to half-time with a small advantage in the scoring.
The second half started and we were all expecting more goals from the Catalan club. However, the control was not the same as in the first half. Barca were able to threaten a little, obligating keeper Masip to make a good save, but without the initial control, the hosts started having chances to get an equalizer.
More than once, goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen had to make some difficult saves to avoid the goal for the hosts. The German keeper was certainly the highlight of the match and because of him, the Catalan club was able to guarantee the three points with a 1-0 win.
With the victory, Barcelona reached 79 points, in the second place. They are just one point behind Real Madrid, who still plays this weekend. Meanwhile, Real Valladolid stopped at 39 points, in 14th place.