Marcus Rashford came off the bench to fire FC Barcelona a step closer to the La Liga title with a composed finish in their 2-0 victory over Getafe CF on Saturday.
With pressure mounting after Real Madrid dropped points against Real Betis, Barcelona took full advantage to extend their lead at the top of the table to 11 points with just five matches remaining.
The hosts struck first on the stroke of half-time when Fermin Lopez latched onto a perfectly weighted pass from Pedri and calmly slotted home to give his side the advantage.
Barcelona were without injured teenager Lamine Yamal, but still controlled large spells of the game before being tested late on by a determined Getafe side chasing European qualification.
Rashford, introduced just after the hour mark, made the decisive impact. Latching onto a long ball from Robert Lewandowski, the England international surged forward from inside his own half and kept his composure to beat goalkeeper David Soria and seal the win.
It was Rashford’s seventh league goal since arriving on loan from Manchester United, underlining his growing importance to Hansi Flick’s side during the title run-in.
The result leaves Barcelona firmly in control of the title race, with their rivals running out of time to close the gap as the Catalan club edge ever closer to a 29th league crown.
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