A 90th-minute volley from Ousmane Dembele sealed the victory for Barcelona against struggling Real Valladolid in La Liga on Monday, catapulting them to second on the points table with only a point behind leaders Atletico Madrid.

Ahead of next weekend’s El Clasico in La Liga, Barca were struggling to break through the Valladolid defense and set for a damaging stalemate at Camp Nou.

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However, Valladolid had Oscar Plano harshly sent off with 12 minutes left and Dembele snatched a 1-0 victory.

His strike could prove a crucial moment in the Spanish title race, with Barca now breathing down Atletico’s necks ahead of Saturday’s mega-clash with Real Madrid, who are three points off the top.

If Ronald Koeman’s men win at Valdebebas, they will claim first place for 24 hours at least, before a depleted and deflated Atletico play away at Real Betis on Sunday.

“We have to step it up a gear, we have to play with more rhythm,” Lionel Messi, who had to himself deliver some firm words to his teammates in the tunnel at half-time, said. “If not it’s going to get complicated for us.”

Victory makes it six in a row for them in La Liga, another win — particularly after an unconvincing performance — enhances the sense that momentum now lies with Atletico’s rivals.

Defeat capped off what Valladolid coach Sergio termed on Sunday as a “sh**ty week” after five of his players tested positive for COVID-19, leaving him without 12 players, with six others injured and one more suspended.

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To mark Messi breaking Xavi Hernandez’s appearance record for the club, he was presented with a framed shirt before kick-off, which he accepted with his family on the pitch. Messi passed Xavi’s previous record of 767 appearances last month, with this his 769th.

With time running out, Dembele pounced on a loose ball at the far post and hit a low volley past Plano to move his side up to 65 points from 29 games, one behind Atleti with nine games left to play in the season.