Barcelona’s wobble continues with Rayo’s victory
Barcelona’s wobble continues, while Rayo’s victory puts Real Madrid on the verge of winning the league.
Barcelona lost 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, giving Real Madrid the chance to win La Liga if they tie Espanyol at home next weekend.
Barcelona’s position in the top four is also in jeopardy after a third straight defeat at Camp Nou extended their late-season slump and saw them squander an opportunity to break away in the Champions League qualifying race.
Madrid leads Barcelona by 15 points with five games remaining, and while the Catalan club has a superior head-to-head record, Carlo Ancelotti’s team knows they will be invincible if they simply collect a point against Espanyol on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Barcelona could still have enough points to finish in the top four with five games remaining, but winning this game in hand against an out-of-form Rayo would have made the final stretch a lot simpler.
Rather, their recent form and present position will be huge concerns for coach Xavi, whose team has only won twice in their past six games.
They were eliminated 1-0 by Cadiz in La Liga after losing 1-0 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Xavi said on Saturday that Barcelona was “recovering the sensations” of a few weeks ago, when a 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu appeared to cement Barcelona’s position as La Liga’s favourite for the coming season.
But, with the team’s season coming to a close, that feels like a distant memory.
Barcelona, who entered the season with over a billion euros in debt, couldn’t afford to lose out on the Champions League.
Missing out on second place would also have consequences, since the Catalans’ qualifying for the Spanish Super Cup is believed to be worth over eight million euros.
Sevilla is equal on points with Barcelona in third position, while Atletico Madrid is two points back in fourth place.
Rayo, on the other hand, has risen to 11th position in the standings, having broken beyond the 40-point barrier, which should assure their survival.
After a great start to the season, Rayo went 12 games without a win between February and April, but any thoughts of relegation are long gone.
Isi Palazon wove his way through Barcelona’s midfield and watched Alvaro Garcia’s looping run in from the left give them the lead in the seventh minute.
Sergino Dest was slow to react, and Garcia took advantage, controlling with his left hand and shooting with his right, giving Marc-Andre ter Stegen no time to recover.
Barcelona had chances, especially in the second half, when Memphis Depay’s effort was saved by Nikola Maras after a beautiful dummy by Ousmane Dembele, who had a shot deflected onto the post by Stole Dimitrievski.
Gavi looked to have a solid claim for a penalty when Alejandro Catena barged into the back of the child in the area in the 89th minute, but neither the referee nor VAR were satisfied.
In the 11th minute of extra time, Barcelona continued to push, and Dembele had another attempt stopped off the line by Catena.
