Barcelona were below average but won 2-0 at Las Palmas on Saturday to reclaim the La Liga lead.
After Atletico Madrid defeated Valencia 3-0 to momentarily take pole position, the Catalans replaced them with a narrow away victory and are one point ahead of the Rojiblancos.
Substitute Dani Olmo finished well before Ferran Torres blasted home to seal the victory and get revenge for Barcelona’s shock home defeat to Las Palmas earlier in the season.
Champions Real Madrid, in third place, can tie Barcelona on points if they beat Girona at home on Saturday.
“We scored two goals, we took three points, and the three-and-a-half hour flight back is much better with these three points,” Barça coach Flick told reporters.
“(Olmo) scored the first goal and this goal was very important for us.”We missed 5-10%, possibly more, of our top level in the first half… the players are dissatisfied with their performance, but they are content with three points.”
In a tight first half, Barcelona’s offence was ineffective, and they lacked the quality required to break down the hosts’ defence.
At halftime, Flick substituted playmaker Olmo for the calm Fermin Lopez.
The Spain international’s first contribution was a poor pass that went out of play, but he immediately regained his composure.
Lamine Yamal sprinted forward and passed the ball to Olmo, who used terrific footwork to find space in the box and finish.
Olmo has not played much since the club’s financial issues prompted him to be unregistered at the beginning of the year when Spain’s National Sports Council granted him a temporary measure allowing him to play again.
In January, the former RB Leipzig star missed a few games due to a calf problem.
“We don’t feel pressure, we want to be at the top, we know (winning the league) is up to us,” said Olmo to Movistar.
“Today we took three important points, so we’re going home happy.”
Las Palmas requested a penalty after a shot struck the back of Eric Garcia’s arm in the box, but VAR determined that there was an offside in the build-up.
Eight minutes of additional time were added, giving Las Palmas hope, but Barcelona eventually scored.
Raphinha scooped up a sloppy pass in the back and released Torres, who rifled past Jasper Cillessen to secure Barcelona’s victory.
The defeat drops Las Palmas to 17th place, level on points with Valencia (18th) in the relegation zone.
– Accurate Alvarez –
Julian Alvarez scored twice, propelling Atletico to the top of the table for a few hours.
The Argentina international scored twice in the first half to bring his season total to nine league goals before Angel Correa added the third late on.
“I’m very happy; it was critical to win here to stay in the title fight,” Alvarez told Movistar.
“We knew it wouldn’t be an easy game; they’d been doing well at home, so we had to go for it, and three points is nice.
“We’re still in the fight… there are still a lot of games to go and we have to go slowly, with humility and hard work like always.”
Valencia had won three games in a row at home, but defeat put them in a tough relegation race.
Atletico began strongly, with former Manchester City striker Alvarez opening the scoring in the 12th minute.
Samuel Lino struck the crossbar after receiving Antoine Griezmann’s exquisite cross, and Alvarez was on hand to score from the subsequent scramble in the area.
Griezmann immediately set up Alvarez’s second goal with another superb cross, which the forward nodded home.
Valencia came out stronger in the second half, putting Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak to the test, but the visitors held on to hold Los Che at bay.
Atletico expanded their lead in the dying moments when substitutes Conor Gallagher and Correa combined on the counter, with the latter scoring.
Diego Simeone’s team will meet Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Tuesday.
Villarreal, fifth, maintained pressure on the top four with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano, sixth.
