Rayo Vallecano 1-1 FC Barcelona: Reaction comes too late

After Barça had collected just one of a possible 12 points from recent meetings with Rayo Vallecano, everyone was aware going into this fixture that it wasn’t going to be an easy one.

And indeed it wasn’t. The home side took the lead shortly before half-time, and although a much-improved Barça managed to pull back level, they couldn’t complete the comeback and two very important points have been dropped at Vallecas.

The rest of the weekend will now be a nervous wait in the hope that Girona and Real Madrid don’t seize the opportunity to widen the gap at the top of the table, with Atlético Madrid also lurking close behind with a game in hand.

De Jong back

With the players coming out wearing shirts in support of the injured Gavi and with Iñaki Peña making his Liga debut for the season as a stand-in for Ter Stegen, there were key absentees as well, although on the flip side Frenkie de Jong was able to make a welcome return to the midfield, earning himself the MVP award in his first game back.

But despite the Dutchman’s useful contribution, Barça struggled to get comfortable. Rayo had already come close on a number of occasions before Unai López rammed in an absolute scorcher to give the home side the lead shortly before the break.

The ‘interfering with play’ clause in the offside rule will again generate debate around the validity of Rayo’s goal. But it is hard to argue that the home side had done enough to deserve something from a game in which, until then, only Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal had come close to netting for Barça, but they were half-chances at best.

Vast improvement

Barça reacted well, and from the goal until the final whistle almost all of the action was in the direction of Stole Dimitrievski’s net. Much as the Catalans tried to work the ball to feet, the closest chances were coming from crosses onto heads, albeit without the desired outcome.

Something more was needed. Raphinha made an immediate impact after coming on, slamming the ball onto the post. Barça were stirring and their efforts were finally rewarded with less than ten minutes of regulation time remaining.

Alejandro Balde planted the ball onto what appeared to be Lewnadowski’s head, although the replays revealed that it was actually Florian Lejeune who had knocked the ball into his own net.

Chasing the win

Once again Barça hadn’t found top gear until the last quarter hour, but suddenly yet another late recovery was on the cards. Rayo’s disciplined shape was in tatters, and the game was now very much there for the taking.

Another Barça goal looked inevitable, but the question was whether there would be enough time left for it to happen. Sadly, there wasn’t.

But Barça will need to pick themselves back up quick after today’s setback, for attention now switches to the Champions League and FC Porto on Tuesday, with two crunch encounters with direct rivals Atlético Madrid and Girona to follow.