Xavi’s Barcelona left in ruins by solid Rayo Vallecano

Barcelona were unable to build on their recent win against Atletico Madrid as they lost another three-point to ninth-place Rayo Vallecano.

An early goal in the first half and another in the second half sank Xavi’s team. The first goal was scored by Alvaro Garcia in the early minute of the first half. Fran Garcia also added the second in the second half to dash Barcelona’s hope of a comeback. Barcelona later got a goal from themselves, thanks to Robert Lewandowski but were unable to find an equaliser.

Xavi made just one change to his side that defeated Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou with Pedri replacing Sergio Busquets in midfield while Rayo Vallecano's manager made four changes to his side that lost to Real Sociedad last weekend.

Rayo Vallecano opened the scoring very early in the game with Sergio Camello showing great vision to find Alvaro Garcia with a cheeky pass inside the box, and his first-time shot was precise and sailed into the bottom right corner. They ended the first half with a goal advantage over Barcelona who struggled to impose themselves.

The second half started with Rayo Vallecano adding the second goal of the game in the 54th minute as Fran Garcia got the ball on the edge of the box after a huge mistake by an opponent and slammed it into the back of the net.

Barcelona tried to get back into the game but Rayo Vallecano held not until the 83rd minute when Robert Lewandowski got in on a rebound. He takes advantage of it and powers the ball into the middle of the target, leaving the goalkeeper helpless.

The game ended in a defeat for Barcelona but the good thing is that they are still top of the League table and favourite to win the trophy.