Rayo Vallecano 1-2 FC Barcelona: Top of the league

FC Barcelona have made it three wins out of three, and all by the same 2-1 scoreline, meaning that whatever happens in this third round of Liga matches, they will be sitting pretty at the top of the table going into next weekend’s matches.

Like against Valencia on the opening day, they did it the hard way. 1-0 down after a somewhat dour first half display, they turned up the heat in the second, with Pedri bagging the equaliser and Dani Olmo getting to cap a wonderful debut by scoring the winning goal.

The only downside to the evening was a potentially nasty knee injury sustained by Marc Bernal towards the end of the game. The exact extent won’t be known until a full medical report is made, and we all hope that it’s not as bad as it looked on the pitch.

Early setback

With just one win from the last six meetings, and none at Vallecas in three, Barça have struggled against Rayo in recent years. This game proved to be no exception.

Not only did the home side take the lead after just ten minutes, but in all fairness, deservedly so. After thwarting a series of early attacks, the Barça defence made it far too easy for Jorge de Frutos to deliver a cross from the right and for Unai López to slot it past Ter Stegen.

Much better

The Catalan response was a good one, but so were Rayo’s attempts to defend their lead. Barça were now getting most of the ball, but other than a great chance for Lamine Yamal that Cardenas did well to save, there wasn’t too much to worry Vallecas.

A vast improvement was needed in the second half, and the introduction of debutant Dani Olmo provided just that. The new signing immediately settled into his duties and in no time was rifling the ball onto the crossbar from long range.

A more inspired looking Barça soon found the goal they were looking for. Pedri to Raphinha, Raphniha back to Pedri, and the Canary Islander coolly levelled up the scores.

Robert Lewandowski looked to have scored for the third game in a row to put Barça 2-1 up, but VAR had spotted an earlier infringement by Jules Kounde, and the goal was irritatingly chalked off. The Frenchman did tread on an opponent’s toe, but it was still a very brave call by the referee.

Justice served

No point arguing, the decision was made and we were back to 1-1. Barça were very much the team on top and there was still over a quarter of an hour for justice to be served.

And served it was. First by Lamine Yamal’s assist and then by Olmo‘s smooth finish, slotting the ball perfectly between the opposing keeper and the post.

It had been an impressive debut from the former Leipzig man, so comfortable that it looked like he’d played for Barça for years, and he’d topped off a brilliant night by nabbing the winning goal.

For no matter how hard Rayo tried to fight their way back into this game, it would be to no avail. The perfect start to Hansi Flick‘s tenure as Barça head coach has continued, and things are looking very, very sweet indeed for Barça fans right now!

Next up is Real Valladolid on Sunday.