La Liga: Lamine Yamal and Nicolas Gonzalez shine as Barcelona and Atletico win

Teenage star Lamine Yamal scored a brilliant goal to help FC Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in La Liga on Saturday.The win allowed Barcelona to restore their four-point lead over Real Madrid, who had earlier beaten Celta Vigo on Friday.

The match at San Mames Stadium was closely contested and had few clear chances. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick rotated his squad because the team will soon face Newcastle United in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.Barcelona struggled in the first half and did not create many chances. Midfielder Pedri later praised Yamal’s talent."We're already seeing what Lamine can do -- he puts it right in the top corner and there's nothing the keeper can do," Barca midfielder Pedri told Movistar.

"He's very young and he's only going to get better."What he has to do is not settle, to keep going like this, keep working and enjoying himself out there on the pitch, because he gives us a lot."Athletic Bilbao had some opportunities before the break. Selton Sanchez ran through on goal but Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia made a good stop. The home team also thought they had scored, but Inaki Williams was ruled offside.

Both teams appealed for red cards in the second half after fouls involving Alejandro Rego, Dani Olmo, and Pau Cubarsi, but the referee only showed yellow cards.Barcelona finally found the breakthrough in the 68th minute. Substitute Pedri passed the ball to Yamal, who escaped the attention of defender Adama Boiro and curled a beautiful shot into the top corner. It was his 19th goal of the season in all competitions.The goal proved to be the decisive moment in a tight match, giving Barcelona all three points. Athletic defender Dani Vivian said his team felt unlucky, believing they played well but did not deserve to lose."It's a very bad feeling, I think we were better, we didn't deserve to lose," said Athletic defender Dani Vivian."Today was a tough day against the hardest team in the league, and we saw how (well) the team did, it's a shame we didn't get the win."Atletico edge SociedadNicolas Gonzalez scored twice as Atletico Madrid defeated Real Sociedad, moving three points clear of fourth-placed Villarreal in La Liga.Both teams had already qualified for the Copa del Rey final earlier in the week, so this match served as a preview of their title clash in Seville in April.Atletico took the lead through Alexander Sorloth, who continued his good scoring form. However, Carlos Soler equalised for Real Sociedad before halftime.In the second half, substitute Antoine Griezmann helped Atletico regain the lead by setting up Gonzalez with a clever backheel pass.

But Real Sociedad quickly responded, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring from outside the penalty area.The winning goal came when Gonzalez jumped high to head in a cross from Matteo Ruggieri."It had been a while since I'd scored so it's good I could do it today in this stadium with these fans," Gonzalez told Movistar."We're showing in every game what we want and what we're capable of."Atletico coach Diego Simeone praised Gonzalez, who had struggled for form after an injury in December. "I'm really happy for Nico... he got injured in December and hasn't been able to find his form since," said Simeone."I hope he keeps it up, because we need everything he has to offer."Real Sociedad coach Pellegrino Matarazzo admitted his team did not play their best but believes things could be different when the two sides meet again in the Copa del Rey final in six weeks."We hate to lose and the performance was not our best," said Matarazzo."There's six weeks (before the final) with different players on the pitch... things will be different."