FC Barcelona returned to the top of LaLiga EA Sports after beating Rayo Vallecano (1-0) at the Estadio Olimpico Lluís Companys. A goal from a Robert Lewandowski penalty, pointed out by the VAR, was enough to beat a combative Rayo, who saw their nine-game unbeaten streak cut short.
Pedri leads Barça in an intense duel
From the start, Hansi Flick’ s team pressed high and Pedri, omnipresent in midfield, dictated the pace of the blaugranas. The surprise in the starting eleven was the presence of Hector Fort at right back in place of Jules Koundé, a decision that the coach justified as “internal”.
Rayo, with Pedro Díaz and Randy Nteka replacing the injured Unai López and Sergio Camello, resisted in the first minutes, although they suffered with the arrivals of Balde on the left and the mobility of Raphinha, who had two clear chances without success.
A penalty kick defines the game
The winning goal came in the 28th minute, when the referee, after reviewing the VAR, sanctioned a grab by Pathe Ciss on Iñigo Martínez at a corner. Lewandowski, with cold blood, deceived Augusto Batalla with a shot tight to the left post, thus adding his twentieth goal in LaLiga.
Rayo reacted and put the blaugranas in trouble. Isi Palazón took control in midfield, leading the visitors’ attacks. Nteka came close to an equalizer with a header and De Frutos scored before the break, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Blue and white suffering in the second half
Rayo Vallecano did not give up after the restart, keeping their pressure high. Meanwhile, Barça continued to rely on the creativity of Pedri, who left details of quality, such as an exquisite control and a filtered pass that Lewandowski failed to define.
The coaches made changes: Dani Olmo and Koundé came on for Barça, while Rayo reinforced their attack with Gumbau and Embarba. De Frutos came close to equalizing, but Szczesny saved the danger.
Barcelona could have scored with quick transitions, but Raphinha twice failed to beat Batalla. With the game on the line, De Frutos missed a header in the final stretch, giving Barça some breathing space to return to the lead 79 days later.
Technical specifications:
1 – FC Barcelona: Szczesny; Héctor Fort (Koundé, min. 66), Cubarsí (Èric, min. 81), Íñigo Martínez, Balde; Frenkie de Jong (Marc Casadó, min. 88), Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Gavi (Olmo, min. 66), Raphinha; and Lewandowski (Ferran, min. 81).
0 – Rayo Vallecano: Augusto Batalla; Andrei Ratiu, Lejeune, Abdul Mumin, Pep Chavarría; Pathé Ciss (Óscar Valentín, min. 74), Pedro Díaz (Gumbau, min. 61); De Frutos, Isi (Trejo, min. 74), Álvaro García (Guardiola, min. 87); and Nteka (Embarba, min. 61).
Goals: 1-0, min. 28: Lewandowski, penalty.
Referee: Mario Melero López (Andalusian school). Yellow cards for home team Gavi (min. 45+2) and Ferran (min. 90+6) and visitors Pathé Ciss (min. 27), Ratiu (min. 41) and Embarba (min. 87).
Incidents: 24th LaLiga EA Sports matchday 24 played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in front of 45,296 spectators.
