Sharjah24 - Reuters: Pedri celebrated his 100th match for Barcelona as he came off the bench and scored from close range in the second-half to give the LaLiga leaders a hard-fought 1-0 win at Girona on Saturday.

The 20-year-old scored in the 61st minute after the goalkeeper failed to hold on to a Jordi Alba cross following a series of other mistakes by the Girona defence.

Barcelona are top of the standings on 47 points, six ahead of bitter rivals Real Madrid, who have a game in hand and will host third-placed Real Sociedad on Sunday. Girona are 12th on 21 points.

With forwards Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres suspended and midfielder Pedri recovering from muscle discomfort, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez opted to rotate his side on a chilly afternoon at Montilivi.

He rested key players such as Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde, while former Manchester City defender Eric Garcia started for the first time in more than three months.

Pedri, however, was called into action sooner than he would have expected after Ousmane Dembele was substituted with what looked like a muscle injury in the 25th minute.