To win the League you also need a bit of luck

BarcelonaTo win La Liga, you have to win and survive. You have to show everyone your strengths and have a little luck. You have to win when you deserve it and when you're not having a good day. You have to take the three points in formal attire and with the work force. In Leganés, Barça struggled in a match in which they never felt comfortable. But an own goal by the home side paved the way for victory for a team that puts even more pressure on Madrid. Everything is going their way for Flick's team.

After the glamour of the Champions League, it was time to head to Leganés, a working-class city home to thousands of people who still rub their eyes when they see their team facing off against true giants. Leganés is profoundly uncomfortable, although it's also admirable that they're where they are. If you look at it from afar, it's one of those clubs that makes you wonder why Barcelona couldn't have a Sant Andreu or a Europa League title. When you play against them, you can't even look at them: they cling to your shirt, they leave no space, they make you sweat blood with every action.

Barça knew it, after what happened in the first leg. And Hansi Flick had spent the entire build-up with the same message: you can never relax if you want to win La Liga. The German coach demanded a winning mentality and competitiveness over the 90 minutes. But the team didn't quite heed him, despite an electric five minutes. Then, they fell into Leganés' trap, moving the ball more slowly, and everyone understood it would be one of those very long, endless, nail-biting matches. Flick, aware that after thrashing Borussia Dortmund, it might not be necessary to rotate at Butarque, made few changes. Eric Garcia came on for De Jong and Araujo for Cubarsí, nothing more. A team with enough starting players to face a duel with one of those scripts Barça has never liked: defensive, closed, uncomfortable opponents. Indeed, Barça prefers opponents like the Germans, who let you play more. In fact, many of Flick's team's stumbles this season have come against opponents from the bottom of the table.

Lewandowski, missing

And so it was, with Leganés managing to disconnect Lamine and Pedri from the game. Neither of them had a good day, which was unusual. The home team closed down with very solid players who knew what to do, and Barça only managed to create danger with the occasional appearance of players from the second line, such as a shot from Kounde and a header from Fermín. Lewandowski? Completely missing in action. He could have put up a sign with his image asking if anyone had seen him.

Flick was getting nervous as he saw how the Madrid team imposed their playing conditions, with some dangerous counterattacks led by Dani Raba and a run by Catalan Adrià Altimira, who was fouled by Balde, in which the Barça full-back was injured. Gerard Martín came on for him, while Flick went from nervous to angry. Due to the injury of a starter and the poor first half of his pupils.

At halftime, the German coach made his move. He wasn't into romantic relationships and brought on De Jong for Araujo, deploying Eric Garcia at center back. Flick didn't want to waste time. He wanted to win at Butarque to leave Madrid with as few options as possible. The Whites, as everyone knows, are specialists at rising from the grave just as people are arriving for their funeral. Winning meant escaping seven points behind Madrid ahead of the match in Vitoria. A show of authority.

And the blow came. In a strange way, but it came. Football clichés say that to win titles, you need a bit of luck. Especially in tricky games like this one. Three minutes into the second half, Gerard Martín fouled Óscar, allowing Raphinha to find space to run for almost the first time all game. Of course, the Brazilian was thinking about finding Lewandowski. And it was towards him that Jorge Sáenz sent the cross into the back of his net. Thanks to an own goal, Barça were turning the tables in the match.

But they had to grit their teeth and work hard against a Leganés side that never tires. They don't want to be relegated, and when you're fighting for your life, you're dangerous. The home side made two calls that weren't theirs and had chances, like an offside goal from Raba, against an awkward Barça side that could have sealed the win with a great individual move from Fermín. But neither the second nor the 100th goal as a Barça player came from Lewandowski, replaced by Ferran. If anyone seemed close to scoring, it was Leganés. But it didn't come thanks to a final brilliant defensive move from Iñigo Martínez. So, in the process, Barça did Girona and Espanyol a favor. A perfect day without doing anything out of this world. Just like champions usually do.