Madrid (AFP)

No fear of emptiness: back in a Camp Nou closed to the public, FC Barcelona temporarily resumed five points ahead of rival Real Madrid by dominating the red lantern Leganes (2-0) Tuesday for the 29th day of Liga.

A nugget and a genius in an empty setting: with two goals from the young hopeful 17 year old Ansu Fati (42nd) and the six-time Golden Ball Lionel Messi on penalty (66th), Barça managed to forget the heavy silence of the Camp Nou and again put the pressure on the shoulders of Zinedine Zidane and Real at the top of the ranking.

The Catalans had trouble getting started, while the largest stadium in Europe and its 99,354 seats were closed to the public due to the post-pandemic health protocol ... which allowed the referee to clearly distinguish the discontent with Leganes coach Javier Aguirre, and send him a direct red card in overtime (95th).

It is the second time in its recent history that Barça has played in an empty Camp Nou. The first was on October 1, 2017: the Blaugrana club had decided to close its stadium to the public against Las Palmas, to protest against police violence as part of the Catalan self-determination process.

After the game, defender Gerard Piqué even said in tears in the mixed zone: "It was my worst professional experience".

- Attacking trio united, but silent -

No nightmares, Tuesday evening, but a slow start: it is even the French defender Clément Lenglet who saved the Blaugranas from the opening score of Leganés (13th), turning away from the heel, almost on his line, a strike from Miguel Guerrero.

But thereafter, the changes of rhythm of Ansu Fati (5 goals this season in La Liga) on his left wing allowed Barça to find some faults, in the tight curtain of the former formation of the Danish striker Martin Braithwaite , Barcelona since February but preserved Tuesday evening.

The attacking trio Leo Messi - Antoine Griezmann - Luis Suarez was reunited for half an hour late in the game, but remained ineffective.

The French, in difficulty this season at Barça, had the opportunity to score a goal (64th), canceled due to an offside position of Nelson Semedo on the last pass.

Quique Setien continued to manage his workforce, taking advantage of the new rule of five changes between the 54th and 73rd, but despite this timely success in the standings, the Catalans will have to do better in their next match at Seville FC on Friday ( 10:00 p.m.).

Less brilliant than in the first Barça return match since the pandemic in Mallorca last Saturday (4-0), Messi has however managed to increase his advantage over Karim Benzema in the ranking of top scorers in Liga, and to add weight to the Real shoulders.

The Madrid will have another chance to reduce their delay with the leader blaugrana Thursday evening (22:00) against Valencia.

© 2020 AFP