Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano

Madrid, Aug 27 (PL) Barcelona defeated Rayo Vallecano 2-1 today and continued with a perfect pace in the early stages of the Spanish soccer league.

The azulgranas had to swim against the tide from the 9th minute, when Unai López put Rayo ahead with a low goal, close to goalkeeper Marc André Ter Stegen's right post.

The Catalans' offense took some time to get going, but once they managed to settle on the Vallecas pitch, they began a suffocating frontal siege against the rival goal, guarded at a high level by Dani Cárdenas.

However, the locals were ahead 1-0 at halftime and the fans were dreaming big.

As soon as the second half got underway, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick sent on star signing Dani Olmo to replace the erratic Ferrán Torres, and the Blaugrana's attack stepped up a gear.

In the first chance he had, Olmo sent the ball over the crossbar from more than 35 meters and showed the way to the comeback.

A few minutes later, in the 60th minute, Pedro González 'Pedri' equalized, while Poland's Robert Lewandowski could have put Barcelona ahead in the 74th minute, but his goal was disallowed by the video referee due to a very dubious foul.

With the score at 1-1, Olmo received a measured pass from Lamine Yamal in the 81st minute, and with his left foot, his less skilled leg, sent the ball into the back of the net to put Barcelona on the road to victory.

After taking the lead, Barcelona could have widened the gap on several occasions, but poor finishing and the goddess of fortune were to blame.

Rayo, totally committed to the attack in the last minutes, could have equalized near the 100th minute (12 minutes of stoppage time), but they had no luck in front of goal either.

Barcelona, who had 22 shots on target in today's match, recorded their third win in the first three matches of the 2024-2025 season and consolidated their position at the top of the league.

Meanwhile, Rayo was stranded in the number eight spot, with a win, a draw and a setback, good for four points.