MADRID (AP) — It feels like Barcelona got a break in its Spanish league schedule.
After a drenching 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the semifinals of the Champions League on Wednesday, the Catalan club will resume its run for the league title against a struggling Valladolid squad on Saturday.
It will be the perfect opponent for Barcelona coach Hansi Flick to rest some of his top players ahead of next week's second leg against Inter in Italy.
Last-place Valladolid, owned by former Brazil great Ronaldo, has already been relegated. It has lost 13 of its last 14 games, including seven in a row.
Valladolid has conceded 81 goals — 28 more than any other team. It will face a Barcelona team known for its offensive prowess, and which has scored 89 league goals this season — 23 more than any other team.
With the three goals against Inter on Wednesday, Barcelona reached 158 goals in 54 games to become the fifth-highest scoring team in the club's history, equaling the marks set by the Barcelona squads in 2008-09 and 2012-13.
The team is 13 goals shy of the fourth highest-scoring squad, and 15 from the fifth highest-scoring Barcelona team. The 2011-12 squad remains far ahead after having scored a whopping 190 goals that season.
“We play with style and confidence, and we know what we can do,” Flick said ahead of the trip to Valladolid.
Barcelona, seeking a treble of titles in its first season under Flick, will be without defender Jules Koundé for a while after he sustained a left hamstring injury in the match against Inter.
Real Madrid still fighting
Real Madrid, the defending league champion, will try to remain in contention for the title when it hosts seventh-place Celta Vigo on Sunday. Second-place Madrid trails Barcelona by four points with five games to play.
Contrary to Barcelona, Madrid is enduring a letdown that included being eliminated by Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals and losing to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.
Madrid had all of its focus on the league now, where it has won three in a row. It has a match at Barcelona to look forward to the following Sunday.
Other matches
Third-place Atletico Madrid visits relegation-threatened Alaves on Saturday, while fourth-place Athletic Bilbao visits Basque Country rival Real Sociedad on Sunday. Fifth-place Villarreal hosts eighth-place Osasuna on Saturday.
In the fight against demotion, 16th-place Girona hosts mid-table Mallorca on Monday, while 19th-place Leganes visits 15th-place Sevilla on Sunday. Las Palmas, sitting 18th, hosts 14th-place Valencia on Saturday.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
