Borja Jiménez’s side could be forgiven for having some trepidation heading into tonight’s clash after Barça dished out a 4-0 mauling to Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, but they began in fine fettle here, hassling and harrying their illustrious opponents.
They almost took an early lead too, as Dani Raba made a surging run down the left flank and picked out former La Masia player Adrià Altimira, who was denied by Wojciech Szczęsny.
The Catalans slowly increased their influence on proceedings as the half wore on, and Marko Dmitrović was forced into a fine save at his near post to parry Jules Koundé’s deflected effort to safety.
Further chances fell to Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Fermín López before the break, while Alejandro Balde was also forced off injured ahead of HT.
It had been a challenging first half for Hansi Flick’s side, with Raba again threatening to make a decisive impact when he rifled a speculative left-footed effort just wide of the post.
El Lega had shown an admirable amount of spirit and fight, but their resistance was broken in unfortunate circumstances three minutes after the restart. Jorge Sáenz turned Raphinha’s cross into his own net as the ball beat Dmitrović at his near post.
Fermín should have doubled their lead following some wonderful close control in the box, but agonisingly missed the target with what looked like a comparatively straightforward finish.
Robert Lewandowski, meanwhile, was chasing his 100th Barça goal and nearly claimed it when his glancing header from Raphinha’s cross flew just past the post.
Ultimately, this was not the same scintillating display of football which Flick’s men provided at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys three days ago, but these crucial three points lay down the gauntlet to Real Madrid, who face Deportivo Alavés on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Leganés are now winless in their last five games (D1, L4) and remain 19th, two points adrift of safety.