La Liga: Barca stay on top after win over Las Palmas, Atletico beat Valencia

Madrid: Second-half goals from substitutes Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres gave Barcelona a 2-0 win away over Las Palmas that keeps them top of La Liga.

Olmo came on at halftime after Barca had struggled to get into a game against an aggressive rival and soon made an impact when he controlled a pass from Lamine Yamal and showed quick feet before rifling home with his left foot.

Las Palmas caused Barcelona problems but failed to create clear chances, although they thought they had a penalty after Eric Garcia blocked a shot with his upper arm in the closing minutes, only for the VAR to spot a previous offside, reports Xinhua.

Ferran sealed a tense win in injury time when he controlled in space in the Las Palmas area and fired home off the underside of the crossbar.

Atletico Madrid enjoyed a 3-0 win away to Valencia, with Julian Alvarez scoring twice in the first half, while Angel Correa added a third in the 85th minute in a result that lifts them above Real Madrid, who will play on Sunday.

Alvarez opened the scoring in an excellent first half for Atletico after Samuel Lino hit the bar following a wonderful pass from Antoine Griezmann. Griezmann was the provider again with a cross for Alvarez to head in Atletico’s second goal after 29 minutes.

Valencia improved after the break, but failed to take their chances and Correa made them pay by finishing a counter-attack launched by Conor Gallagher.

Ayoze Perez’s 66th-minute goal gave fifth-place Villarreal a 1-0 away win to sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano, who were handicapped by Jorge de Frutos’ 42nd-minute red card that left them with 10 men.

Fernando Calero’s 87th-minute header gave Espanyol a 1-0 win away to Alaves, lifting them away from the bottom three and further sinking their rivals, who have one win in their last 13 games.

IANS