Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Valencia on Saturday, with Vinícius Júnior missing his second penalty in less than a month.
The result left the door open for Barcelona to extend their lead atop the LaLiga standings.
With one game in hand, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona are in the lead with 66 points, three ahead of second-placed Madrid and nine clear of Atlético in third.
Should Barça win their match against Real Betis later on Saturday, they will extend their advantage to six points with just eight games remaining.
While Madrid dominated possession throughout, they squandered numerous opportunities, thanks to an outstanding performance by Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who saved Vinícius’ penalty in the first half.
The match began with Valencia taking the lead in the 15th minute when defender Mouctar Diakhaby headed in a corner from Andre Almeida.
Vinícius equalized for Madrid in the 50th minute with a goal from another corner and pushed hard for a winner.
However, Valencia’s resilience paid off in the dying moments of the match, as they launched a rapid counterattack in added time.
Hugo Duro’s header in the 95th minute sealed a dramatic victory for the visitors.
