Barcelona take 9-point lead after Madrid held Betis

Madrid, Mar. 7: In three days, Barcelona has enjoyed seeing rival Real Madrid take two blows. After beating Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Barcelona kept its title-chasing momentum in the Spanish league by defeating Valencia 1-0 and increasing its lead over second-place Madrid to nine points. Madrid couldn't keep pace with the Catalan club later Sunday after being held to a 0-0 draw at Real Betis.

Raphinha scored a first-half winner for Barcelona, which missed a penalty from Ferran Torres early in the second half and then saw defender Ronald Araujo sent off. Madrid was mostly in control against Betis, but Vinícius Júnior, Karim Benzema and Rodrygo failed to capitalize on their scoring chances.

Barcelona and Madrid will play their final league game on March 19 at the Camp Nou.

"It's not over yet," Madrid's Lucas Vázquez said. "We know it's going to be tough, but we will fight until the end. We really think we can make a run."

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

Barcelona got the win despite still missing some of its top players, including Robert Lewandowski, the 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.

"We are not being effective up front and end up suffering to close out matches," said Barcelona coach Xavi, who watched from the stands because of a suspension.

Madrid was without midfielder Luka Modric because of a yellow-card suspension. Carlo Ancelotti's team is winless in three straight matches after defeating Liverpool 5-2 in the first leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Valladolid defeated Espanyol 2-1 in a match between two clubs trying to stay far from the relegation zone.

Seventh-place Rayo Vallecano and eighth-place Athletic Bilbao drew 0-0 in a result that kept the clubs from moving up into the European qualification places. (AP)