Barça suffers a scare in Valladolid but comes back to maintain their lead at the top of La Liga.

Hansi Flick's Barça seem to be a regular at comebacks lately. Against a Valladolid side already mathematically relegated to the Second Division , the German finally had to bring several players out of reserve for next Tuesday's crucial clash with Inter to overcome the home side's opening goal and secure the win. A 2-1 draw allows them, at least, to maintain their lead over Real Madrid, just a week before the two giants play the second Clásico of the season.

The result achieved at the José Zorrilla may also serve to spur on the Barcelona fans ahead of that life-or-death duel at San Siro , in which they will play against the Nerazzurri for a place in the Champions League final, which this year will be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

With Inter in mind, as he hinted at in his pre-match press conference, Hansi Flick introduced a number of rotations into his starting lineup. In practice, the only outfield player who could clearly be considered part of his star team was Pedri , whom he opted not to rest from the start. Perhaps Pablo Torre 's injury in training also played a role.

Gavi and Fermín lined up alongside the Canary Islander. In defense, meanwhile, to support the returning Marc-André ter Stegen , the German lined up Héctor Fort, Araujo, Christensen, and Gerard Martín, and in attack, he called on a debutant, Dani Rodríguez, to accompany Pau Victor and Ansu Fati.

The German's game plan, however, quickly fell apart. Barely six minutes into the match, Iván Sánchez 's shot, unfortunately deflected off Araujo, put Valladolid ahead. The Blaugrana tried to respond quickly, with Pau Víctor 's acrobatic shot easily thwarted by André Ferreira, who would go on to make at least a couple more fine saves before the break.

The hardest blow, however, would be seeing how Dani Rodríguez would have to make way for Lamine Yamal after his right shoulder dislocated, but not before giving several hints about his ability to overflow in attack.

Ansu Fati , for his part, tried to impress, just as he did in the last match against Mallorca. But he often combined poor offensive selections with a bit of slowness in his execution, although he did manage to pull off a shot that was well saved by the home goalkeeper. Barcelona tried their best to go into the break at least level on the scoreboard, but they weren't entirely successful in their pursuit. Perhaps that's why Flick called on both Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong after the break, looking to secure three vital points in this final stretch of the championship.

The comeback

And the move, in this case, paid off. Raphinha, after a desperate clearance from André Ferreira after a swerving cross from Lamine Yamal, complemented by the pressure of Araujo, made it 1-1 before the first 10 minutes of the second half had even elapsed. And Fermín , after a fine cross from Gerard Martín , made it 2-1 just six minutes later. Two goals with which the Blaugrana finally punished a Valladolid side that, after the wear and tear of the first 45 minutes, had opted to increasingly get closer to the edge of its own area.

Héctor Fort, after spinning around inside the box like a true center forward, would send a good moment later a ball off the right post of André Ferreira's goal that could have easily been the final scoreline. Latasa, after a move in which the home side apparently broke the offside trap, forced Ter Stegen to excel to prevent another equalizer. And Candela , in the other area, just as the game was dying, denied Lamine Yamal a goal on the line, and Ferreira did the same to Olmo in a final game in which the scoreboard, despite everything, would not move again.