SONOMA, Calif. – George Kurtz took home the first checkered flag of the year in the GT America powered by AWS series Saturday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway.

Charlie Luck finished second with Jason Harward in third.

Sean Quinlan was the winner in the GT4 class over Robb Holland and Jason Bell.

Kurtz and Jason Daskalos started on the front row and took off at the start. Stewards deemed Kurtz’ start was a bit premature and issued him with a drive-through penalty. During the fourth lap, Daskalos’ Audi experienced a mechanical issue, forcing the car and driver to retire from the race.

Dmitri Novikov started fourth overall due to a post-qualifying penalty assessed to former fourth-place qualifier Harward, who was moved to seventh. A lap-six incident saw Novikov spin, allowing teammate Jeff Burton and Harward to move up in the running order.

Black Swan Racing’s Tim Pappas  also suffered a mechanical issue that ended his run on lap seven. Soon after, Kurtz’ served the his drive-through penalty and dropped to sixth.

While Luck and Harward battling for the top spot, several competitors lost positions after on-track spinouts, including Burton, Gray Newell and Alex Welch.

The battle for the GT4 class commenced from start to stop as the top-three class qualifiers closed out the race in slightly shuffled order. Top qualifier Holland qualified first, but second-place starter Quinlan managed a mid-field pass and held on to the lead to take the checkered flag first.

LAS VEGAS – A.J. Allmendinger is making the most of his return to full-time racing with Kaulig Racing this season.

Allmendinger took the lead during a late-race restart and outran Daniel Hemric to post his first victory of the season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, guaranteeing himself a place in the Xfinity Series playoffs later this year.

The 39-year-old racing veteran returned to full-time racing this year after spending the last two seasons racing sparingly for Kaulig Racing, earning three victories along the way. His determination to continue helping Kaulig Racing improve helped lead Allmendinger back to full-time status.

“That’s why they wanted me here, was to keep improving. That’s all they tell me,” Allmendinger said. “We’d love to win the race today. We all know that. They tell me there is no pressure, you’re making us better, we’re getting better, that is all that matters.

“It’s happening fairly quick once we got rolling and we’re continually improving. The win is gratifying for everybody. I didn’t make that the justification of that’s the reason I’m coming back, I have to win.”

Allmendinger and Hemric ran at or near the front of the field most of the day, with the two battling for the lead during the final 60 laps. Allmendinger took the lead for the first time from Hemric with 62 laps left in the race.

The driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro led through a round of pit stops and was more than a second ahead of Hemric when the caution waved with 27 laps left for a spin by Harrison Burton after contact with Austin Cindric.

Allmendinger and Hemric led the field down pit road, with Hemric beating Allmendinger off pit road. Ty Dillon stayed out during the pit stops and was the leader for the restart, but Hemric quickly dispatched him to regain the lead.

Dillon quickly fell through the field and one lap later was involved in a multi-car incident that brought the caution flag back out. That set up what would prove to be the final restart with 13 laps left with Hemric leading Allmendinger back to the green flag.

When racing resumed Allmendinger was able to get a big run on the bottom through turns one and two, allowing him to pull clear of Hemric to regain the lead. Hemric and third-place Brandon Jones both tried to challenge Allmendinger in the next few laps, but Allmendinger blocked every move and slowly began to inch away.

With no caution flags to bring the field back to him, Allmendinger held on to earn seventh career Xfinity Series victory and second on an oval in Xfinity Series competition.

“Really what it comes down to is the second row and who is pushing you,” Allmendinger said of the final restart. “Noah Gragson gave me a heck of a push. Daniel, I think Brandon was restarting behind him and I don’t know if Brandon spun the tires or was just a little late, but there was just that gap where Brandon didn’t push Daniel so I could get into turn one with a half car length lead on Daniel and our car was so good I kept it pinned to the floor.

“I knew I had the lead off of turn two. Daniel was really quick, but he was especially quick on shorter runs. Once we got the lead I knew I just had to hold him off for a couple laps and then our car was so fast after that I could just start driving away.”

Hemric finished second for the eighth time in Xfinity Series competition as he continues to chase his first victory in one of NASCAR’s three national divisions. He said he thought starting on the outside during the final restart was the winning move, but Allmendinger simply outran him.

“It seemed like strength of numbers,” Hemric said. “If you’ve got some help on the bottom you can make it work all day, but for me if I could just hold serve…if I could be door handle to door handle with A.J. through one and two I felt like my car was so good in that middle lane through (turns) one and two, through three and four, I felt confident I could clear him.

“That plan obviously deteriorated when I launched. I really honestly got too far out. The bottom lane, from what I can tell, they just got linked up and had so much momentum coming back that whenever I went to go turn down to side draft I just was on the splitter. I was probably late getting there in general.”

Jones was third, followed by Austin Cindric and Las Vegas native Noah Gragson.

For complete results, advance to the next page.

SONOMA, Calif. – Despite a late-race caution that eliminated a 30 second lead, Jacob Ruud cruised to victory overall and in the TCX class in TC America’s season-opening round at Sonoma Raceway Saturday.

“I think we have a strong car for the season,” said Ruud. “I was able to save my tires today, so I was still comfortable during the late caution and was able to pull it out, it’s great to get this first win.”

Ruud also ran the fastest lap of the race, giving him pole for Sunday’s second race of the weekend.

As the green flag waved, pole-sitting Ruud led the TC America presented by Skip Barber Racing School field and jumped out to a lead of nearly two seconds by the end of the opening lap over teammate Tommy McCarthy.

TC class leader Eric Powell put the hammer down at the start and by lap two would moved to third overall by putting a TCX-class machine between himself and rival Kevin Boehm.

Ten minutes into the race, McCarthy would spin out from overall at turn six, allowing Ruud to extend his lead and Roy Block to slip into second in class. McCarthy would quickly recover and get past Block three laps later.

As Powell and Boehm controlled the top two positions in TC, the battle for the final podium position raged on as Victor Gonzalez, Toby Grahovec and Rob Hines battled at the halfway point of the 40-minute race.

With 16 minutes left on the clock, Gonzalez and Grahovec would come together at the turn nine chicane, sending Gonzalez into the wall, bringing out the first and only caution of the race.

This caution would give McCarthy new life as Ruud’s TCX-class and overall lead would be slashed from more than 30 seconds as the field bunched together. The grid would get back to green flag racing with just more than five minutes remaining, making the restart critical.

Ruud would remain the leader over McCarthy in TCX, but Boehm would get the jump on Powell for the TC class lead, with Grahovec slotting into third and Hines fourth in class.

On the white flag lap Powell would place his car next to Boehm on the outside of turn one, setting himself for the inside of turn two, taking the lead in one sweeping pass. Boehm would hesitate with Grahovec, then pounce and take second in TC. Hines would finish fourth with Tom Capizzi in fifth.

The TCA battle would see pole-sitter Jesse Love claim a narrow victory over Mark Pombo by one-tenth of a second. Caleb Bacon would take the final TCA podium position.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Greg Anderson moved a step closer to the biggest single-race payday in his legendary Pro Stock career.

The veteran standout qualified in the No. 1 spot at the CTECH World Doorslammer Nationals presented by JEGS, with his run of 6.531 seconds at 210.14 mph from Friday in his Chevrolet Camaro holding up during Saturday’s final qualifying session.

The four-time world champ earned the $1,000 top qualifier bonus sponsored by Chilly Willys and has plenty of momentum heading into Sunday’s eliminations, where the winner will earn $75,000. Anderson came close a year ago at the inaugural race, losing in the final round, and appears ready to try and finish the job in 2021.

“It’s great but just because you’re low doesn’t mean you’ve got everyone covered,” said Anderson, who has 94 career Pro Stock wins. “It’s a nice feather in the cap, but it doesn’t get you much more than that. The good news is we have a fast car among all the other fast cars, so we’ve got a great chance.”

Joining Anderson as the No. 1 qualifier was Khalid Al-Balooshi, who took top honors in Pro Mod and claimed the $1,000 top qualifier bonus sponsored by Caruso Family Racing.

Back-to-back and four-time Pro Stock world champ Erica Enders moved up to second on Saturday, making the top run of the day by going 6.534 seconds at 209.95 mph in her Trulieve/Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.

It bumped teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. to third — though he made another solid run of 6.541 seconds to close out qualifying — and Kyle Koretsky finished fourth. Like last year, first-round pairings will be determined by a chip draw on the starting line. That takes place at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, just before the first round of eliminations, which are slated to begin at 12 p.m.

Saturday’s lone qualifying session was considerably cooler than Friday, which forced a dramatic change in conditions. With Sunday also calling for temperatures in the mid-60s, Anderson was thankful for the chance to find an engine tune-up for those conditions.

Anderson’s car got loose during his lone run on Saturday, but he’s confident he can rectify that before eliminations. He’s been a standout — and the most successful driver in Pro Stock history — in single-race shootouts, with the pressure of big-money races often bringing out the best in him. Anderson is hopeful he can replicate that on Sunday, knowing full well what it will take to succeed against a quality field.

“When you’ve got weather like this and power like this, you’ve got to go straight,” Anderson said. “That’s very important. I’ve got to get up on the wheel and make sure the car stays straight. I’m glad we got a run today because this is more of what we’re going to see tomorrow, so that’s good. I’m looking forward to it. My car wants to run, there’s no question about it.

“I know the adjustments I need to make tomorrow. When you’re making the kind of power we are with the way the weather is, you have to stay in the groove. That’s going to be the No. 1 thing on my mind.”

Al-Balooshi was happy to take the No. 1 qualifying spot in Pro Mod and grab the $1,000 top qualifier bonus thanks to his run of 5.659 seconds at 251.25 mph from Friday in his ProCharger-powered Bahrain 1 Racing ’19 Camaro.

But more than anything, Al-Balooshi was simply pleased to see teammate Justin Bond get into the show. On the outside looking in heading into the final qualifier on Saturday, Bond jumped up to third with a stellar run of 5.726 seconds at 250.64 mph. That brought a smile to Al-Balooshi’s face knowing the team landed in two of the top three spots and enter Sunday’s eliminations with a strong chance to win the $50,000 prize.

“I am happy, but more than anything we put Justin Bond’s car in the show,” Al-Balooshi said. “We have two shots to race tomorrow and try to win. That’s what made us happy today. We were struggling a little bit, but we found what we needed to and we made some adjustments, and we’re both headed in the right direction.”

Bond credited standout tuner Brad Personett for dialing up the strong run in the clutch, which gave Bond, the top qualifier from the inaugural race a year ago, plenty of confidence heading into Sunday.

“We had a fast car last year and we made some changes over the winter. We were trying some different stuff and then when it came to qualifying we put went back to our old stuff and lost it a little bit,” Bond said. “The manual shifting was causing me trouble, but I’ve got a good group of guys and Brad is just great. Consistency is going to be key tomorrow, but I think we can do well.”

Jason Scruggs sat out the session and finished in the second position after going 5.704 seconds at 252.76 mph on Friday and Brandon Snider, who finished second in NHRA Pro Mod last year, took fourth.

The Top Sportsman top-three went unchanged from Friday’s two qualifying sessions. Cheyenne Stanley is No. 1 spot with a 6.154-second pass, but was unable to return for Q3 after tangled parachutes caused him to end up in the sand trap on Friday. Mike Lubniewski followed in the No. 2 spot, with Derrick Brown rounding out the top-three.

Bill Skillman remained in the No. 1 spot in Ray Skillman Auto Group Factory Shootout in the Ray Skillman Ford Mustang Cobra Jet. David Barton qualified second while former Pro Stock star Mark Pawuk moved to third.

Daryl Stewart jumped to the top of the $hameless Racing Pro 632 presented by C&C Pumping qualifying order in the final session. Jimmy Pelcarsky held onto the No. 2 spot and Wes Distefano qualified third.

The Comp Eliminator No. 1 qualifier is Joe Carnasciale Jr in his I/SM ’06 Cavalier. In the Strange Engineering Stock/Super Stock combo, Jeff Taylor is the No. 1 qualifier.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Lee Westwood made a pair of 30-foot putts over the final three holes Saturday, one for eagle and the other a closing birdie, for a 7-under 65 that gave England's ageless wonder a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Westwood turns 48 next month and is feeling younger by the years, coming off a third European Tour title and still easily among the top 50 in the world.

Now he goes up against U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, whose 68 included a birdie on the par-5 sixth hole in which he cut off so much of the water he had only 70 yards for his second shot on the 531-yard hole.

Corey Conners of Canada, who started with a one-shot lead, could only manage a 71 on a cool, breezy day at Bay Hill with only a few drops of rain. He also was one shot behind.

“It's nice to still be playing in these tournaments,” Westwood said. “You've got to be top 50 in the world and if you would have said to me 20 years ago will you still be top 50 in the world at 48 I might have been slightly skeptical. And it just shows that I’m still capable of playing well in these tournaments with all the good young players around me and obviously contending, because that’s what I’m doing this week.”

Sunday was shaping up as another thriller at Bay Hill.

Jordan Spieth opened with a birdie and a hole-in-one, took the lead by holing a bunker shot on the par-3 seventh, saved par after a tee shot into the water and shot 68 with the kind of round he'd rather do without. Spieth prefers boring golf, and this was anything but that.

He was two shots behind, along with former PGA champion Keegan Bradley, who had the low score of the week at 64.

Spieth didn't have the only ace. Jazz Janewattananond made on on the 14th hole that thrust him into the ix with a 69, leaving him four shots behind in a group that included Rory McIlroy, who bogeyed the last for a 72. Despite such a pedestrian round, McIlroy was very much in contention.

They will be chasing Westwood, who first played the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 1998. He was at 11-under 205.

Westwood posted his lowest score ever at Bay Hill and made only six pars. He had eight birdies and the eagle on the 16th hole, along with a pair of three-putt bogeys.

Westwood has five victories since turning 40, including last year in Abu Dhabi, among the strongest fields on the European Tour. He rallied to win the Race to Dubai late last year, his third time finishing the year as Europe's No. 1.

So this didn't surprise him, especially on a course that fits his eye, even though he has only one finish in the top 10.

“I haven’t lost any of my length and I haven’t lost any of my enthusiasm to go and work and work in the gym,” Westwood said. “My nerves are still intact, I still get into contention and enjoy it rather than kind of back off.”

Spieth is getting used to being in contention, too. He had chances in Phoenix and Pebble Beach, and he was in the peripheral of contention at Riviera.

Starting four shots behind, he made up ground quickly with an 18-foot birdie on the first hole and then hit a 5-iron that rolled up the right side of the green, turned toward the cup and dropped for an ace.

“That was obviously a really cool moment,” Spieth said.

He will play Sunday with Tommy Fleetwood, who had a 68 and was three behind. Spieth had to play as a single most of Saturday when Justin Rose, who made a 9 on the third hole, withdrew soon thereafter citing back spasms.

DeChambeau got one of the loudest cheers of the day by hitting into the rough. The biggest gallery lingered behind the sixth tee to see if he would go for the green. He aimed well to the right, but it still was a thrill to them to see DeChambeau grab driver and blast away.

The fans packed behind the ropes on the other side of the water let out a huge cheer when his ball descended and tumbled into the rough, 70 yards from the pin.

“Oh, man, I felt like a kid again, for sure,” DeChambeau said. “It was exciting, especially when you pull it off. It was almost like winning a tournament. It's kind of the feeling I had. It was like, ‘Oh, I did it.’ I got the same chills and feeling when I saw it clear and there was no splash. I gave the fans what they wanted.”

The tournament isn't decided until Sunday, and with hardly any rain, the greens are unlikely to lose their speed and firmness. McIlroy likes his position. Westwood likes his even more.

OCALA, Fla. – Jennifer Kupcho made a 12-foot eagle putt on the final hole to cut Austin Ernst's lead to a stroke Saturday in the LPGA Tour’s Drive On Championship.

Kupcho shot a 2-under 70 at Golden Ocala, setting up the eagle with a fairway wood that just cleared the rocks and water fronting the green on the par-5 18th.

“I actually was like standing on the tee and I was like, 'I feel an eagle coming on.′ So, it was pretty cool to do it,” Kupcho said. “But when I got down there to the fairway I definitely didn’t think it would be possible to get it close and I was not aiming anywhere close to where my ball went, but it happened to go right at the pin and carried by a couple yards, carried the water by a couple yards, and ended up in a good spot. I was able to just make the putt.”

Ernst parred the last six holes in a 69.

“I didn’t quite have it ball-striking-wise today,” Ernst said. “I hit a few good shots, but then kind of sprayed a few drives and kind of had to work a little bit harder that I have had to work the last couple days.”

The two-time LPGA Tour winner chipped in for birdie on the par-4 ninth. She was at 13-under 203.

“I know I need to go play well.” Ernst said. “I can’t not play well and win, so it’s going to be the same type stuff. Obviously, sleeping on the lead the last two days I know what to expect. I’ve slept really well.”

Kupcho is winless on the tour. The former Wake Forest star from Colorado won the 2018 NCAA title and the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019 with a back-nine charge.

Albane Valenzuela (66), Patty Tavatanakit (69) and Jenny Coleman (70) were tied for third at 7 under.

Nelly Korda had a 76 to drop to 3 under. She won the Gainbridge LPGA last week at Lake Nona after sister Jessica Korda took the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

Laura Davies, the 57-year-old Hall of Famer who rebounded from an opening 75 with a 69 on Friday to advance to the weekend at even par, was 4 over after a 76. She's playing on a World Golf Hall of Fame exemption.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Lee Westwood turns 48 years old next month, and he’s already hearing about it.

“Everybody keeps asking me when I'm going to the seniors tour,” Westwood said after making eight birdies and an eagle, shooting 7-under 65 and taking a one-shot lead Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Despite his age, Westwood believes he’s plenty capable of getting the job done against these young lads on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel old at times.

Westwood has made 13 starts at Bay Hill, with his first one coming in 1998.

“I played the first few rounds with Gary Koch, so that shows how old I am,” Westwood said.  (Koch is 68, by the way.)

Westwood has some other memories from that week. That’s the moment he fell in love with Arnie’s Place, even if it’s not always been reciprocated with Westwood owning just one top-10 on the layout. He also played well enough to get into the penultimate group on the final day in his debut.

Of course, the Englishman only played three strong rounds in that first trip. On Sunday, he tripled the third hole, only made two birdies and doubled the last to close in 76 and finish 10 shots behind winner Ernie Els.

“I finished in a bit of an ambulance and [Palmer] had a few choice words to say when we shared a vodka and tonic with Ernie Els, the winner, in the locker room afterwards,” Westwood recalled. “He was surprised at how I was laughing and smiling coming off the last green, having finished with a couple of double bogeys in the last three holes.”

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has said that the club cannot afford to solely focus on winning the Champions League by giving up in the Premier League.

Klopp's side find themselves in sixth position in the league and four points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea after losing 1-0 to Thomas Tuchel's team on Thursday.

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Liverpool could still secure a place in the Champions League next season by winning the competition this year but Klopp insisted that his team will remain competitive in the league.

"We are not in the next round so I can't think about winning the Champions League now," he told a news conference ahead of Sunday's home clash against Fulham. "We have to go through difficult rounds and this round is difficult.

"I didn't think that far [ahead] obviously. This week, we play these three games again late in the season with two days in between, so it's Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday which is tough.

"We will see who we can field on Sunday and then we make a decision on who we can field on Wednesday but it's not because we gave up in the Premier League, that will never happen.

"Liverpool is too big, too many people are interested and we don't really play behind closed doors without cameras. It's in front of our people and we feel the responsibility that in each game, we have to give absolutely everything to win it. That doesn't change our attitude."

Liverpool are in a good position to progress into the Champions League quarterfinals with a 2-0 lead over RB Leipzig going into the second leg of their round-of-16 clash on Wednesday.

Klopp also said that Liverpool's season cannot be compared to his final campaign at Borussia Dortmund in 2014-15.

After winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles and reaching a Champions League final, Klopp's Dortmund endured a tough start and found themselves in the relegation zone at the midway point of the season before turning things around to finish in seventh place.

"It's not even close," Klopp added. "The situation at Dortmund, from an injury point of view, was not half as bad as it was here and we had much less points after the first part of the season."

"The difference was we had injuries and the first part of the season was similar, but in the second part they all came back. After the last game of the first part of the season, and we had a winter break, I knew all the players will be back and it's a completely different situation. You cannot compare it.

"It's not that easy where you have a situation like I had seven or eight years ago and I just take out a book where I wrote all the notes and have a look and say that's what we can do.

"The only thing you can do is to work as hard as you can, to fight as much as you can, to play as good as you can to win football games because that changes everything."

Barcelona continued their rampant run of domestic form to beat Osasuna 2-0 away from home on Saturday and move to within two points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, with Lionel Messi setting up goals scored by Jordi Alba and teenager Ilaix Moriba.

Messi helped Barca take the lead on the half-hour mark when he carved open Osasuna's defence with a superb cross-field ball to Alba, who controlled before blasting into the roof of the net.

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He then laid the ball off when 18-year-old midfielder Ilaix Moriba struck in the 83rd minute, producing a confident finish inside the post from outside the area to score his first goal for the club in only his third league appearance.

The victory followed Barca's heroic second leg comeback win over Sevilla to reach the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday and notched a 13th league win in 16 games, while they are unbeaten since losing at Cadiz on Dec. 5.

The Catalans stay second but moved on to 56 points after 26 games, two points behind Atletico Madrid who have played 24 matches and host third-placed Real Madrid on Sunday. Osasuna are 13th on 28.

"We just needed to keep on winning. It wasn't our best performance but we played well and we deserved the win," said Barca coach Ronald Koeman.

"We played with a lot of energy. We were tired, but we put in a professional performance and scored two great goals. I'm very happy, this is a very important run and I hope we stay on this path."

Perhaps still feeling the effects of the 3-0 win over Sevilla after extra time, Barca took a while to settle and nearly went behind in the second minute. They were spared thanks to the first of three impressive saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The German had to scurry back to stop an audacious attempt from Osasuna's Jonathan Calleri, who went for goal from his own half. He also made a truly outstanding save to deny Kike Barja later in the first period, flying to his top right hand corner and throwing up his left hand to swat the ball away.

With Barca then leading through Alba's vicious strike, Ter Stegen rescued the visitors for a third time, denying midfielder Ruben Garcia from close range.

Barcelona are next in action on Wednesday when they will try to overturn a 4-1 deficit in their Champions League round-of-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain.

"We have to rest now and then we'll prepare the game. I don't want to say it's impossible, and we'll go there and try to get a good result," Koeman added.

Meanwhile, Osasuna, who remain 13th with the loss, will host Valladolid n La Liga next Saturday.

Reuters was used in this report.

Ilaix Moriba says he will take his first Barcelona goal "to the grave" with him after opening his account for the club in Saturday's 2-0 win over Osasuna.

Ilaix, 18, scored Barca's second goal with seven minutes to go to seal victory as Ronald Koeman's side cut the gap on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid to just two points.

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The midfielder, who joined the club's academy in 2010, only made his professional debut in January and was making just his fifth appearance for the senior side.

"I like to shoot," Ilaix told reporters after the game. "Thanks to God, [Lionel Messi's] passed me the ball and I don't know how I cut back, but then I shoot with my left [foot] and it's a goal.

"I need a little time to take it all in. I will never forget it. I will take it to the grave with me. I just want to dedicate the goal to my dad, to my mum... and to all my family."

Ilaix, who was born in Guinea but has represented Spain at youth level, is one of several youngsters to have been given a chance by Koeman.

He came through the La Masia academy at the same time as Ansu Fati, whose first Barca goal also came away against Osasuna last season.

"Ansu is like my brother, we've spent many years together," Ilaix said. "I love him a lot, he's family to me. I'm delighted to have scored my first goal in the same goal as him."

Asked what advice Messi, who set up the goal, has given him, Ilaix added: "He's said to me from the start: 'You always have to the area. Get there and look for the goal.' And today he gave me the pass and I've shot..."

Ilaix has long been highly rated within the club -- he signed an unprecedented contract for an academy player in 2019 when he was just 16 -- but Koeman still deserves credit for the faith he's shown in him.

"Ilaix scored a fantastic goal, the decisive goal that sentenced the game," the Barca coach said in a news conference.

"Every time he comes on, he gives the team something extra, because of his personality and his energy. Most of all, he's good with the ball and physically he's a strong kid. He's gaining ground and showing he can be with the first team more.

"For me, the most important thing is that we're competitive. Age doesn't matter, it's about what I see on the pitch."

Jordi Alba had earlier opened the scoring but Barca were indebted to a string of saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen to keep them in front before Ilaix's clincher.

Koeman conceded his team weren't at their best but still felt they "deserved" to leave Pamplona with three points.

The Dutch coach will be an interested viewer on Sunday when leaders Atletico host third-placed Real Madrid in the Madrid derby.

Atletico's lead over Barca is down to just two points, although they have two games in hand, while Madrid are three points back from Barca but have played a game less.

"The most important thing was to win our game," Koeman said. "Whatever the result is on Sunday will be a good one for us."