Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano

Barcelona boss Xavi admitted that the club has dipped in form from its spectacular showings in February and March, but there's still a Champions League spot ...

Unlike the opponents, Rayo Vallecano is a relatively healthy side for this late in the season. For the second straight match, Radamel Falcao is on the bench, and could be a substitute option. 22nd min: Rayo is now sitting deep after scoring the opener, and Barcelona has absolutely nothing in the attack. Dembele then nearly finds Aubameyang but the cross is just a smidge too high for the Gabonese international to get good contact with his head. 60 mins before kick: Lineups are in, and there's a surprise for Barcelona as Ronald Arajuo, who came off injured just days ago, is fit enough to start. On a goal kick Dimitrievski plays it short to Nikola Maras whose heavy touch allows Aubameyang to charge it down right on the doorstep of the goal mouth. The change from Dest to Garcia is a defensive one, and now Dembele has very little support on the right flank. The young midfielder, understandably, is incensed with the call and with his opponent, and he has words for Lopez who yells back. Rayo hasn't had anything forward since the goal, as the game's been played almost entirely in the Rayo half. Unai Lopez throws a shoulder into Gavi marshaling the ball out of play, and Gavi is hilariously called for the foul. The game has grinded to a halt. Still, it would take quite the collapse for the club to be sent down at this point, holding a decent gap with three of their final fixtures this season coming against teams below them in the table.

Following their hard-fought win against Real Sociedad away from home, Barcelona face off against Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou in Matchweek 34 of the 2021/22 ...

No changes have been made in the middle of the park as Xavi has stuck with the trio of Gavi, Sergio Busquets, and Frenkie de Jong. It means that Nico Gonzalez is once again left out on the bench. And manager Xavi Hernandez has made two changes to the lineup that took the field at the Reale Arena for Sunday’s game as he looks to help the Catalans tighten their grip on the second spot in the standings. Marc-Andre ter Stegen continues in goal as is the norm for Barça. Gerard Pique has been replaced in the lineup is Eric Garcia possibly as a precaution after he picked up a knock against Real Sociedad last time out.

7' - GOAL! BARCELONA 0-1 RAYO VALLECANO (ALVARO GARCIA): Oh wow, Rayo are ahead! For the third consecutive home game, Barca concede first! Palazon is the ...

The loose ball drops to Gavi, who creates the space for a shot. 42' - OFF THE CROSSBAR! Rayo fail to clear from a corner. There was plenty of time for Barcelona to recover, of course, but they struggled to click, a distinct lack of firepower in attack evident as they failed to create a clear cut chance until the dying stages. What was perhaps most concerning for Xavi was the number of times his side conceded possession in midfield, with Frenkie De Jong, in particular, guilty of sloppy passing. For the third consecutive home game, Barca concede first! Xavi rang the changes, operating with four strikers on the pitch in a desperate bid to drawl level.

Barcelona boss Xavi admitted that the club has dipped in form from its spectacular showings in February and March, but there's still a Champions League spot ...

Unlike the opponents, Rayo Vallecano is a relatively healthy side for this late in the season. For the second straight match, Radamel Falcao is on the bench, and could be a substitute option. 22nd min: Rayo is now sitting deep after scoring the opener, and Barcelona has absolutely nothing in the attack. Dembele then nearly finds Aubameyang but the cross is just a smidge too high for the Gabonese international to get good contact with his head. The change from Dest to Garcia is a defensive one, and now Dembele has very little support on the right flank. On a goal kick Dimitrievski plays it short to Nikola Maras whose heavy touch allows Aubameyang to charge it down right on the doorstep of the goal mouth. Unai Lopez throws a shoulder into Gavi marshaling the ball out of play, and Gavi is hilariously called for the foul. The young midfielder, understandably, is incensed with the call and with his opponent, and he has words for Lopez who yells back. It's a letoff for Barcelona as Rayo could have made the inevitable look much worse. Moments later, Gavi yanks down a Rayo attacker who was free on goal just past the halfway line, and is lucky only to receive yellow for what probably should have been a clear last-man foul. The hosts were baffled for much of the match by the heroic Rayo defending and goalkeeping, with precious few chances to equalize throughout the match. Even a point here would have been celebrated, but a road win at the Camp Nou to complete the season double over Barcelona is what dreams are made of.

Alvaro Garcia struck the only goal of the game after just seven minutes, with Barcelona struggling to build attacking momentum during much of the contest. Still ...

but we have to be in the Champions League, we want to hear the Champions League music next season. He added: "We were all fired up with the great run in the league and the Europa League. I understand it's not as motivating for the fans and players to fight for second place. In Barca's history it's about coming first, but we have to understand and motivate ourselves to finish second." Barca previously lost three games in a row at Camp Nou in 1998 but that was split over two seasons. And if we get the first goal with enough time, I am sure the second follows. Still, Barca hit the woodwork toward the end of both halves, while Gavi had a strong penalty appeal rejected as the clock neared the 90-minute mark.

Barcelona boss Xavi admitted that the club has dipped in form from its spectacular showings in February and March, but there's still a Champions League spot ...

Unlike the opponents, Rayo Vallecano is a relatively healthy side for this late in the season. For the second straight match, Radamel Falcao is on the bench, and could be a substitute option. 22nd min: Rayo is now sitting deep after scoring the opener, and Barcelona has absolutely nothing in the attack. Dembele then nearly finds Aubameyang but the cross is just a smidge too high for the Gabonese international to get good contact with his head. The change from Dest to Garcia is a defensive one, and now Dembele has very little support on the right flank. On a goal kick Dimitrievski plays it short to Nikola Maras whose heavy touch allows Aubameyang to charge it down right on the doorstep of the goal mouth. Unai Lopez throws a shoulder into Gavi marshaling the ball out of play, and Gavi is hilariously called for the foul. The young midfielder, understandably, is incensed with the call and with his opponent, and he has words for Lopez who yells back. It's a letoff for Barcelona as Rayo could have made the inevitable look much worse. Moments later, Gavi yanks down a Rayo attacker who was free on goal just past the halfway line, and is lucky only to receive yellow for what probably should have been a clear last-man foul. The hosts were baffled for much of the match by the heroic Rayo defending and goalkeeping, with precious few chances to equalize throughout the match. Even a point here would have been celebrated, but a road win at the Camp Nou to complete the season double over Barcelona is what dreams are made of.

Football News: Rayo Vallecano forward Alvaro Garcia netted an early goal to give his side a surprise 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Sunday, ...

If you see the teams in the Champions League, it’s very important to be pushed to the limit. The period when the World Cup is being played is normally the most important period of a season. It took me a couple of years to realise if he was right or left-footed. If you won the league by a mile, and come into the Champions League, they are not really up there.Saha We lost to Dortmund in the semis in 97, but going into Europe you need experience of playing such games, as players, also as a club. Conversely, I think actually the quality of the World Cup is going to be better because the players are coming in fresh.ON THE 1999 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WIN: World Cup is a very compressed tournament but if you play well, you play a lot of games and you risk getting injured. I think you have to earn it, still respect the system. It is unnatural because you are worried about the ball hitting your hands. Ten Hag will probably have that emphasis on youth, coming in from Ajax. I think mentally it helps for the youngsters at the academy because if you do the hard work and everybody is asking about you, you have the chance to play for the first team. But if it goes on, it is not good personally and also for the team. : These stats are for teams fighting for relegation, not for Top-4. When we were playing, we had players running both ways, offensively and defensively, that’s the key.

With an unprecedented third straight home defeat, Barcelona is unintentionally clearing the way for Real Madrid to clinch the Spanish league title.

It was the second straight win for Rayo after enduring a 13-game winless streak in the league. The loss left Barcelona tied on points with third-place Sevilla and only two points ahead of Atletico Madrid in the final Champions League spot. The match was postponed from January. No other league games were played this weekend. “We are in a tough situation now,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said. Madrid will have its first chance of lifting the trophy Saturday when it hosts Espanyol. Madrid is 15 points ahead of second-place Barcelona with five rounds to go. We are in a bad dynamic right now.”