Barça, Camp Nou is still taboo: Rayo hits the mark

Bad night for a Barcelona that is found fragile at the Camp Nou and virtually hands the Liga into the hands of Real Madrid. The troop of Xavi sticks in the recovery of the 21st day against Rayo Vallecano and remedies the third consecutive knockout at home between the championship and the Europa League. A flash at the start of Alvaro Garcia is enough for Madrid, who condemns Barça with the same result as the first leg in the match that led to the exoneration of Koeman and the arrival of Xavi. The Blaugrana catch three woods but wake up too late to straighten the result despite 12 ‘of recovery. The second place in the standings remains unaffected, the result of a better goal difference compared to Sevilla, but the 15 points behind Real Madrid five days from the end deliver the first match point to the Blancos next weekend.

false start

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Only two variations for the Blaugrana compared to the eleven played in San Sebastian, both behind due to the ailments of Alves and Piqué. For the rest, Xavi has quite clear ideas and the territorial supremacy established in the very first minutes seems to prove him right. However, there is an uncertain defense and ballerina with Dest and Garcia, the authors of the mess that in the 7th minute send Alvaro Garcia to the wedding, good at burning Ter Stegen with a sharp right at the near post. It takes a while to absorb the blow, both for the cold slap and for Iraola’s effective strategy. Yet the Catalans show signs of reaction by gaining meters and catching two woods, one with Jordi Alba (right around) and another just before the rest with Gavi.

curtain blaugrana

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The great sin of Barça is to waste half of the second half before trying to change pace, which, moreover, it succeeds only in part thanks to the inputs of Depay, Traoré and the “talisman” De Jong. The lack of pace and ideas against Rayo is also the result of the bad night of people like De Jong and Aubameyang, with the latter replaced after an hour of play. The fact remains that Dimitrievski is not in great danger for about 80 ‘, because his team-mates manage to defuse any attempt at opponent’s penetration both in the central streets and on the lanes, where the main ace up Xavi’s sleeve (Dembélé) fails to make the difference. The predictable final assault leaves a bitter taste for the Blaugrana, also because the guests manage to fragment the game and break the rhythm. The rest is done by the referee, who denies Gavi the penalty after a push from Catena in the 89th minute, and two prodigious interventions by Dimitrievski, saved in the 92nd minute with the complicity of the post on a shot by Dembélé. The last attempt even in the 113th minute, but the Frenchman hits a defender with an empty net and Barça is left with a bitter knockout in a nightmare month.