Barcelona maintained their 100% start to the season with a 2-1 win over a gutsy Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday.
After Unai López’s opener, Pedri drew the two teams level after the break, with the introduction of debutant Dani Olmo from the bench making an immediate impact.
Robert Lewandowski saw a goal scored controversially, but in the end it didn’t matter as Olmo headed home with ten minutes remaining to complete a perfect debut.
How the game developed
Rayo started the game lively, charging against the Barça defense on every occasion, and deservedly took the lead after 10 minutes.
López found space in the box and fired at Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s near post, but the German couldn’t get a strong enough hand to keep out the effort.
The goal injected some life into Barcelona, but a handful of clever moves down the right led to nothing, while Rayo continued to cause all sorts of problems with their lightning-quick counter-attacks. .
It took nearly half an hour for Barcelona to really stamp any kind of authority on proceedings, but clear-cut chances were limited. Lamine Yamal’s strike from distance stung the gloves of Dani Cárdenas, but the Rayo goalkeeper was in control in the first 45 minutes.
Early in the second half, Raphinha sent a low cross into the six-yard box that somehow eluded Lewandowski as the Poland international slid in to try and hit an open goal.
Substitute Olmo soon began pulling strings. He fired wide from a free-kick before hitting the crossbar from 30 yards.
At the scheduled time, Barça finally pulled away. Raphinha’s cut-back found Pedri, who flicked the ball off his feet and into the back of the net.
Lewandowski thought he had put his side ahead 11 minutes later with a composed finish, but a VAR check prompted the referee to review a possible foul on Jules Kounde, who was incredibly unlucky to be booked for stepping on the toe at the feet of Pep Chavarria.
Barça would get the second soon after, however, and it was no surprise to see Olmo celebrating. His excellent cameo was capped off with a smart finish into the bottom corner to guide the team to their third consecutive 2-1 win.
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 5/10 – Getting hit at your near post is never a good look for a goalkeeper. He got a hand on Lopez’s opener and probably should have kept it out.
RB: Jules Kounde – 5/10 – An animated show that failed to make a positive contribution at either end of the field. He did not provide enough support for Yamal in attack.
CB: Pau Cubarsi – 7/10 – He showed composure that most of his senior peers did not. Impressed with the ball at his feet.
CB: Inigo Martinez – 5/10 – He couldn’t keep up with Rayo’s speedy forwards, who forced Cubarsi to try to tidy up behind him.
LB: Gerard Martin – 4/10 – His first start in La Liga was not one to be remembered fondly. He looked lost at times as the Lightning quickly identified him as a weak point.
DM: Peter – 7/10 – Made plenty of passes to try and keep Barcelona going and capped off a fine display with a smart equaliser.
DM: Marc Bernal – 6/10 – A little isolated at times by Pedri’s forward runs, but the youngster has held his own both on the ball and at the plate.
RM: Lamine Yamal – 7/10 – The obvious danger in attack. Barca sent almost everything through Yamal, who found himself locked in a very entertaining battle with Alfonso Espino. Assisted Olmo’s winner.
AM: Raphinha – 7/10 – He grew in the game after a quiet first half. He caused all sorts of problems in the second half and grabbed the assist for Pedri’s equaliser.
LM: Ferran Torres – 4/10 – The left wing of the Barcelona team has been noticeably weaker than the right. In attack, Ferran has been calm and ineffective, and it was no surprise to see him stuck at half-time.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – 5/10 – Lewandowski didn’t do too badly individually, but that’s largely because he didn’t do anything.
Substitutes
SUB: Dani Olmo (46′ for Ferran) – 8/10
SUB: Alexandre Balde (65′ for Martin) – 6/10
SUB: Fermín López (90′ for Pedri) – N/A
SUB: Pau Victor (90′ for Yamal) – N/A
Subs not used: Ander Astralaga (GK), Inaki Pena (GK), Sergi Dominguez, Andreas Conca, Hector Fort, Marc Casado, Pablo Torre
manager
Hansi Flick – 7/10 – Barcelona haven’t been great here, especially in the first half, but the introduction of Olmo certainly changed proceedings as Flick’s substitutions made the difference.
