Tested to the limit

BM Villa de Aranda v FC Barcelona Lassa 31:35 (18:17)

The best was brought out in Barça Lassa on Saturday night as they showed their winning spirit to defeat a Villa de Aranda side that truly had them up against the ropes. The league champions, unbeaten in domestic play for three years, had to work hard to make it 28 wins out of 28 in the current season. With the home side inspired by Juanlu Moyano, Barça found themselves in the unfamiliar situation of trailing at the interval (18:17).

The second half proved just as demanding, and it took eleven minutes before an Ariño score finally got the Catalans in front at 22:23. Jallouz and Lazarov, with 5 and 9 goals, kept things going for the hosts, and it wasn't until Víctor Tomás scored his 999th and 1,000th league goals that victory was finally clinched. A win against Naturhouse La Rioja at the Palau Blaugrana on Wednesday at 8.30pm CET will round a 100 per cent record in the league this season, but Saturday night was certainly a very close shave indeed.