A header from Ronald Araújo in the 24th minute it was the 3 points for a FC Barcelona who suffered excessively in the second half to defeat 1-0 against Rayo Vallecano. It was the moment when a John Garciaprotagonist of Barça in recent days due to the call of coach Luis De la Fuente for the friendlies against Serbia and Egypt.
It didn’t take a minute for the Barça goalkeeper to vindicate himself by blocking a ball from the goal area. Carlos Martin after a perfect play by Rayo, taking advantage of the very advanced defensive line that Barça usually plays with.
It was the best occasion of Rayo Vallecanowho had managed to surprise the Barça defense. From there, Barcelona imposed its game with the duo formed by Bernal and Pedri managing the pace of the match. However, it was difficult for them to hurt a red-and-white squad well planted at the Camp Nou.
An error by Pathe Ciss led to Raphinha intercepted the ball, headed at full speed towards Batalla, but crossed his shot too far when the Rayista goalkeeper came out to block him. Shortly after, it would be the Brazilian who tested Batalla again with a semi-miss shot that the Argentine sent for a corner.
The first goal of the game came precisely from the corner. Launched by Joan Cancelo, Ronald Araujo He became strong against Pathe Ciss in the small area to finish with a header close to the far post.
Barça could have left the game very decided, but Augustus Battle He had a superb hand on a shot from Raphinha who was poisoned after hitting the Rayista defense. The cross ended up repelling the Argentine goalkeeper’s clearance.
The game had little more until halftime. Iñigo Pérez’s approach was perfect to hold the score. Pep Chavarria was managing to dry Lamine Yamal. But the top lacked spice. Much more so when you are behind on the scoreboard.
Rayo takes a step forward
The Rayo coach was aware of the limitations of his lineup and remedied it upon returning to the locker room. Alvaro Garcia y Jorge de Frutos They had to be on the green. The one who stayed on the bench was Lewandowski. Aside from his goals against Newcastle, the Pole is going through a difficult time and went completely unnoticed during the first half. He left his space to Ferran Torres, another forward in need of vindication after his 11 games without scoring or assisting. Too much for an attack with Barça’s numbers.
The changes would soon begin to take effect. Rayo crossed the opponent’s field more frequently than during the first half. In an aerial ball, Alvaro Garcia He gained position over Cubarsí and his shot at the short post was cleared by Joan Garcia for a corner. The Blaugrana goalkeeper had to use his reflexes again to clear the dangerous shot from Unai Lopez after the corner kick.
In the last minutes, the Pacha Espino He had a very clear opportunity in his boots. He had too much time to think and ended up sending a one-on-one against Joan Garcia to the clouds. The future international still had to intervene again to clear the shot from Of Fruits and safeguard the leader’s victory. In short, 3 points for Barça that serve to put pressure on Real Madrid ahead of tonight’s Madrid derby against Atlético de Madrid at the Bernabéu.
