GIRONA: Pedri’s second-half strike earned Barcelona three more points and maintained their top position in the La Liga table as they beat Girona 1-0 on Saturday.

Barcelona jumped to 47 points, six ahead of their arch-rivals and second-placed Real Madrid who will host Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Girona, however, slipped to 12th and level on 21 points with 13th-placed Sevilla who later beat Elche 3-0.

Xavi Hernandez made a few adjustments to his starting lineup, which defeats Real Sociedad in Copa del Rey on Wednesday, resting key players including Robert Lewandowski and  Ronald Araujo.

Despite outplaying the opponents in the first half, Barcelona failed to create clear-cut chances. In the 14th minute, Ousmane Dembele was able to test Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, but he made a crucial stop. Eleven minutes later, Dembele was forced off the field due to an injury.

Pedri broke the deadlock after the hour mark and scored the lone goal of the game.

Meanwhile, Sevilla’s convincing 3-0 win came on the back of a sensational first-half display which witnessed three goals within 20 minutes.

Youssef En-Nesyn scored a brace with Marcos Acuna striking in between to give Sevilla a comforting lead before the break.

Later Real Betis edged past Getafe 1-0 thanks to a late penalty by Borja Iglesias in the dying minutes.

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