Barcelona 1-0 Rayo Vallecano
Barcelona have continued their perfect record since returning to the Spotify Camp Nou, as they narrowly defeated Rayo Vallecano on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Catalonia.
It was a mad start to proceedings. Rayo should have scored inside the opening minute, but Joan Garcia produced a fantastic stop to deny Carlos Martin. Soon after, Raphinha had an equally big chance to score, but he prodded the ball wide in a 1-on-1 situation after he pounced on an error from makeshift defender Pathe Ciss.
Fortunately for Barcelona, they were the side that were not made to pay for their big miss. On 24 minutes, they opened the scoring courtesy of Ronald Araujo, who headed home Joao Cancelo’s corner at the back post.
Barcelona were concerned just before half time when goalkeeper Garcia went down holding the same calf he injured against Newcastle in midweek, but fortunately, he was able to continue – and it was crucial that he did, as he made a couple of important saves in the second period to keep Rayo at bay. Alvaro Garcia was denied inside the penalty area, and from the resulting corner, Unai Lopez’s header was saved at point blank range.
Rayo were the team in the ascendency late on, as they pushed hard for an equaliser. Once again, Garcia was forced into action as he was at full stretch to stop substitute Jorge de Frutos from grabbing a goal that the visitors would have deserved. But in the end, Barcelona held firm for another clean sheet and three points.
Barcelona enter international break with commanding lead
As things stand, Barcelona have a seven-point lead over Real Madrid after their win, although that will be cut back down to four if Los Blancos win the Madrid derby. Even if that happens, Hansi Flick’s side find themselves in a strong position going into the final stretch of the 2025-26 season.
