Raphinha breaks the Las Palmas resistance

The Brazilian scored the only goal as Xavi's side struggled against 10-men

Barcelona closed the gap to LaLiga leaders, Real Madrid, to just five points after 30 matches as Raphinha's 59th minute strike gave them a well-deserved 1-0 victory over Las Palmas at their temporary home, the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

The match-winning strike came following great work from Joao Felix as he drifted to the inside of the pitch with the ball, uncontested, before clipping it over the top of the defenders for Raphinha to head home past the goalkeeper from 12 yards.

It was a commanding performance from the home side, who were a cut above 12th-placed Las Palmas as they dominated the stats with 71% possession and 14 shots whilst their opponents couldn't manage to get a foot into the game.

Las Palmas' chances of getting anything took a big hit in the 24th minute when their goalkeeper, Alvaro Valles, was given his marching orders for taking out Raphinha as he was faced with an empty net.

So, 10 men, away to Barcelona? The odds are against you and that's how it played out as Xavi's side created a variety of chances, with notably good ones falling to the ever-involved Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski in the first half as the defending champions controlled the tempo.

Then in the second half, Felix missed an absolute sitter to kill the game off in the 77th minute. The ball fell to the Portuguese winger in the box, and he rattled the cross bar from six yards, just minutes after he forced Aaron Escandell into a strong save.

But Barcelona continued to dictate play to get an all-important 1-0 win that made the game seem far tighter than what the reality actually turned out to be. On another day, it was two, three or four to the home side.

Xavi's men