Madrid, March 8 (NationPress) Lamine Yamal netted the sole goal of the match in the second half, securing a 1-0 victory for FC Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao. This win keeps them four points ahead at the top of La Liga.

Yamal received a pass from Pedri on the right side of the penalty area before curling an unstoppable shot that hit the inside of the post.

The outcome was particularly tough on Athletic Bilbao, which delivered one of its strongest performances of the season just three days after their Copa del Rey semifinal loss to Real Sociedad.

Unfortunately, the home team lost midfielder Unai Gomez to a serious knee injury shortly after, yet they continued to fight hard and kept Barcelona under pressure in the closing minutes. The substitution of Pedri at halftime turned out to be crucial.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid's Nico Gonzalez scored twice to lead his team to a 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad, which served as a preview for the upcoming Copa del Rey final.

Both teams made various changes following their midweek encounters, with Alexander Sorloth making a mark by scoring against his former team in the fifth minute.

After Carlos Soler equalized in the ninth minute, the score remained tied until Gonzalez restored Atletico's lead in the 67th minute, only for Real Sociedad’s captain Mikel Oyarzabal to equalize just one minute later.

Gonzalez secured the win with a goal in the final nine minutes, pushing the ball in after a save from Alex Remiro.

In another match, Levante faced late disappointment after Carlos Espi's header in the 50th minute seemed to secure a crucial 1-0 home win against Girona.

Levante was reduced to 10 men in the 58th minute when Jon Ander Olasagasti received a straight red card for a heavy tackle but managed to hold on until the 94th minute, when Joel Roca's long-range effort took a deflection to beat the impressive Matt Ryan.

Osasuna also made headlines, scoring two late goals to earn a 2-2 draw against Mallorca, who initially led 2-0 during Martin Demichelis' debut as coach.

Vedat Muriqi, Mallorca's top scorer, put his team in front with two goals, the first coming from a mistake by Osasuna's goalkeeper Sergio Herrera and the second from a counterattack.

Despite Jan Virgili's red card, which left Mallorca with 10 men, parity was restored quickly when Osasuna's Raul Garcia was also sent off.

Osasuna managed to equalize through Kike Barja's strike in the 89th minute, followed by a last-minute goal from leading scorer Ante Budimir, leaving Mallorca in the relegation zone.

On Friday night, Real Madrid kept their championship aspirations alive with a 2-1 victory against Celta Vigo. A deflected shot by Fede Valverde in the dying moments sealed the win in a match that had appeared destined for a draw after Borja Iglesias' equalizer for Celta canceled out Aurelien Tchouameni's opening goal.