Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong (r) and Pedri (l) challenge Leganes' Dani Raba in their team's 1-0 win. -EPA
Barcelona have needed an own goal to eke out a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Leganes and protect their lead of the Spanish league.
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Leganes central defender Jorge Sáenz slid to stop a pass by Raphinha bound for Robert Lewandowski and inadvertently pushed it into his own net in the 48th minute for the only goal of Saturday's game.
The error spoiled an otherwise strong performance from the southern Madrid side, who generated more scoring chances than the front-runners.
The hard-earned win extended Barcelona's lead to seven points over Real Madrid before the titleholders visit Alaves on Sunday. After this weekend there are seven rounds left, including a "clasico" next month.
Leganes shocked Barcelona 1-0 in December, during a dip in form by the Catalan club.
But since the start of 2025, Barcelona have now gone 24 games without a loss and are in the running for a treble of titles including the Copa del Rey, where they has reached the final against Madrid in two weeks.
Hansi Flick's side kept up their momentum before they visit Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday aiming to make good ontheir 4-0 first-leg win in their Champions League quarter-final.
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