Lamine Yamal scored the game-winning goal that helped Barcelona beat Mallorca 1-0 at Montjuic.

The 16-year-old came in from the left in the 74th minute, passed back and forth with Robert Lewandowski, and then curled the ball past Predrag Rajkovic.

Xavi praised the goal from a high seat in the stands. He had been banned from the sidelines for one game and was watching Napoli play Torino while Barcelona was playing.

Barcelona needs to beat Napoli on Tuesday night to make it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. On this show and with not as many first-team stars. They already don’t have Frenkie de Jong or Pedri, and Raphinha got hurt in the first half of this game.

Rafael should have put Barcelona ahead when he won a penalty because Jose Manuel Copete hit him in the ankle. This time, Robert Lewandowski, who usually takes penalties, sat on the bench to rest. Ilkay Gundogan went up, but his poor penalty kick was saved by Predrag Rajkovic.

Other chances were hard to come by because Barcelona’s attack was blocked by Mallorca’s five-man defense. Some whistles were blown by the home fans, and Joao Felix had a shot that went just wide. Manuel Morlanes and Cyle Larin also had chances for Mallorca.

Raphinha’s ankle injury that led to the penalty never fully healed, and Fermin Lopez came on for him in the 37th minute.

After the break, Joao Felix tried to sneak a shot in at the near post, but the second half didn’t get much better, and the whistles didn’t stop. There were only 38,225 people in the field, which is the sixth lowest number of people this season.

From the jeers, Xavi was at least safe in the stands. He got up from his place just before the hour when Lamine Yamal curled a shot onto the bar. That was the signal to take Marc Guiu, who was 18 years old, off and replace him with Lewandowski, who is 35 years old. Vitor Roque also replaced Joao Felix.

Roque was lively and made everyone happy. But Yamal’s skill was what won it in the end. Barcelona is now only five points behind the winners, Real Madrid, who play on Sunday.

As shown on the screen in Xavi’s box, the game against Napoli on Tuesday, which is now the most important match, is tied 1-1 after the first leg.