LaLiga leaders Barcelona suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Leganes on Sunday, as a fourth-minute header from defender Sergio González proved decisive.
The loss marked Barcelona’s second consecutive home defeat in the league, despite their impressive Champions League form, where they have won five of their six matches.
Barcelona’s domestic struggles have persisted for over a month, managing just one win in their last six LaLiga games.
However, they remain at the summit of the standings with 38 points, tied with Atletico Madrid, who they face on Saturday, and a point ahead of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, the victory lifted Leganes to 15th in the table with 18 points, their first-ever win at Camp Nou.
The visitors stunned Barcelona early when captain González rose unmarked at the near post to head home a corner, leaving goalkeeper Iñaki Peña helpless.
Barca immediately pressed for an equalizer, but despite dominating with over 80% possession, they were unable to breach a resolute five-man Leganes defense.
Their lack of precision in front of goal was glaring, with only four of their 20 shots hitting the target.
Leganes’ goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic played a crucial role, delivering a heroic performance with three spectacular first-half saves.
The 32-year-old Serbian denied Robert Lewandowski’s first-time shot in the 10th minute after brilliant work by Raphinha and later palmed Raphinha’s volley onto the crossbar in the 33rd minute.
Minutes later, he thwarted Lewandowski again in a one-on-one situation.
Barcelona’s frustration mounted in the second half as Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski, and Jules Koundé squandered clear opportunities to score.
Despite their dominance, the Catalans could not find the spark to overturn the deficit.
“It’s impossible for us to go home feeling happy after what happened today,” an exasperated Pedri told DAZN post-match. “We didn’t have the spark that is needed up-front to score goals and we have to go into games better, we can’t allow our rivals to score goals in the beginning like this.
“I think we had created chances but we have to know how to finish. It’s hard to find an explanation for why we have been struggling in LaLiga but we need to get a move on.”
