Barcelona beat Valencia 1-0 to go 9 points clear of Real Madrid in La Liga

Barcelona kept its title-chasing momentum by beating Valencia 1-0 and increasing its lead over Real Madrid in Spanish league on Sunday.

Raphinha scored a first-half winner for Barcelona, which missed a penalty from Ferran Torres early in second half and n saw defender Ronald Araujo sent off.

win at Camp u stadium came three days after Barcelona defeated Madrid 1-0 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in first leg of Copa del Rey semifinals. Catalan club took its league lead over Madrid to 10 points, increasing pressure on its rival. Madrid plays at Real Betis later Sunday.

Barcelona had lost two in a row — against Manchester United in Europa League and Almeria in league — before coming up with big Copa victory against Madrid at Bernabéu.

Raphinha scored with a header after a well-placed pass by Sergio Busquets in 15th minute. Torres missed penalty in 55th and four minutes later Araujo was sent off for stopping a breakaway.

Barcelona got win despite still missing some of its top players, including Robert Lewandowski, league's leading scorer. Ousmane Dembélé and Pedri also didn't play because of injuries, while playmaker Gavi was out because of a yellow-card suspension.

Valencia was trying to win two in a row after a run of six consecutive losses in all competitions. It came into Camp u inside relegation zone and missing several players because of injury, including veteran striker Edinson Cavani. It dropped to 19th place, two points from safety.

It was Valencia's third game with coach Rubén Baraja in charge after he replaced Gennaro Gattuso. Singaporean club owner Peter Lim still faces protests from Valencia fans who accuse him of poor administration and t caring for club's interests.

Madrid and Barcelona will play ir final league game on March 19 at Camp u.