Spanish giants Barcelona suffered a 1-0 upset defeat to Leganes on Sunday, with Sergio Gonzalez‘s well-timed header proving decisive as the hosts squandered numerous opportunities, marking their second straight league loss at home.
Despite their impressive Champions League campaign, securing five victories in six matches, Barcelona’s La Liga form has been poor, managing just one win in their previous six fixtures.
Barcelona maintain their position atop the La Liga table with 38 points, equal with Atletico Madrid – their upcoming Saturday opponents – whilst Real Madrid sit one point behind in third position, with both challengers holding a match in reserve.
This historic victory marked Leganes’s first triumph at Barcelona’s home ground, positioning them at 15th place with 18 points.
The decisive moment came in the fourth minute when Leganes captain Gonzalez, finding space at the near post during a corner kick, directed a powerful header beyond goalkeeper Inaki Pena’s reach.
Barca immediately upped the ante to find the equaliser; but despite dominating proceedings throughout the match with over 80% possession, they missed a handful of opportunities.
Barcelona’s accuracy was poor as they missed 16 of their 20 attempts, whilst Leganes’ goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic proved exceptional with three remarkable first-half saves.
The Serbian goalkeeper, aged 32, demonstrated outstanding reflexes in the 10th minute, thwarting Robert Lewandowski’s immediate strike following Raphinha’s skilful run down the left wing.
His excellence continued in the 33rd minute with an outstanding save, deflecting Raphinha’s volley onto the crossbar, followed shortly after by denying Lewandowski in a one-on-one situation.
After the interval, the home side’s difficulties increased as they squandered numerous opportunities. Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha failed to convert promising chances, whilst Lewandowski and Jules Kounde missed straightforward opportunities from close proximity.
