45
21:56
Mid-term conclusion:
An intense first half between FC Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano ends 0-0. Barcelona were mostly the dominant team, especially Dembélé, Pedri and Raphinha kept pushing and also had shots, and Lewandowski also scored from offside. Rayo died early at first, but then resorted to closing up shop in the back. Surprisingly, the guests had the best chance of the first half in added time, when Álvaro García failed after a strong solo against ter Stegen. Everything is still in here, see you soon!
45
21:53
Catena (Rayo Vallecano) is shown a yellow card.
Catena goes a little too hard in the duel with Lewandowski, but he also makes a lot of it. You can still give yellow.
45
21:51
At the other end, Dembélé takes a corner from the left straight at goal, but Dimitrievski catches the eye and palms the ball clear.
45
21:50
There was more in it! Álvaro García does a great job against Araújo, who he misses on the left side of the box. He then has the choice of trying it himself or serving Sergio Camello in the middle. García chooses the finish but Ter Stegen is out and makes a strong save.
45
21:49
The five minutes of stoppage time are a bit surprising, as there were no longer interruptions apart from the drinking break.
45
21:48
Official injury time (minutes): 5
45
21:48
Oscar Trejo (Rayo Vallecano) is shown a yellow card.
44
21:48
But just before the break, Sergio Camello swings down the right flank, penetrates into the danger zone and passes in the middle, but nobody has followed. After all, that was an offensive sign of life!
41
21:45
The first half is coming to an end. Rayo is now trying to take the point into the break. Relief was less successful for the guests in the last few minutes.
38
21:40
Raphinha has taken a break, now the newcomer is present again on the left and sensitively lifts the ball into the box, where Lewandowski puts his head but cannot place the shot exactly. He goes a good meter over it.
37
21:39
Shortly afterwards, Dembélé is back in action, this time assisting Pedri, who is lurking in the center of the penalty area. The conspicuous midfield director does not hesitate and flicks the ball directly towards the right corner, but there are a few centimeters missing, just wide.
35
21:37
Dembéle and Raphinha have swapped sides. The Frenchman now comes into the danger zone from the right, turns the ball to the left with a quick turn, but then only produces a shot, which is not a problem for Dimitrievski. There was more in it!
32
21:35
The momentum has gone a bit at Barcelona since they had a drink break a few minutes ago. Will the favorites pick up again before the break or can the visiting team draw attention to themselves offensively?
29
21:33
Now Rayo Vallecano has a longer ball possession phase. There is even a cross from Trejo from the left, but it doesn’t reach Sergio Camello and tumbles into the goal.
26
21:29
It’s Raphinha, who doesn’t close directly, but wants to serve Lewandowksi, who starts on the right in the sixteen. But here, too, there is a lack of accuracy in the pass and the striker can no longer reach the ball.
25
21:28
Pedri is brought down by Trejo in the middle of the penalty area. That’s a good 25 meters goal distance, who will compete?
23
21:27
There is not much to see from Lewandowski apart from his offside goal. Now Gavi is looking for him with a cross from the right half-field, but the pass is a bit too high for the Pole, he can’t get to it.
20
21:23
After twenty minutes of play, Barcelona have the events under control and also tightened the reins offensively. Watching Rayo start to swim from behind. This is also the case with Dembélé’s great cross from the left, which finds the free Raphinha in the middle. He takes off right in front of the penalty area, but just misses to the left.
17
21:20
Lots of overview from Dembélé, who puts the ball on his right foot outside on the left and plays a low pass across the field to the other side, where Raphinha is lurking again. His shot from the turn misses a good meter to the right, and he was again offside.
14
21:16
Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona) is shown a yellow card.
A cross pass from Gavi finds no teammate, then Dembélé Ciss hits the legs badly. Shortly before he had already started a tactical foul, now the measure is full and he is cautioned early.
13.
21:16
offside goal by Lewandowski! The Pole is sent into the penalty area and lobs the ball past Dimitrievski, who came out, but he was a good half a meter offside. The flag goes up immediately.
12.
21:14
But Raphinha has now run hot. After a pass from Pedri, he comes back from the right, puts the ball on his left foot in the penalty area and shoots, but is blocked.
11.
21:14
Shortly thereafter, the resolution: lucky for Vallecano, because Raphinha was offside before his solo, which is why a possible foul afterwards no longer plays a role. The game continues.
10
21:13
And no sooner is Barcelona in the sixteen than it gets heated up! Raphinha duels Fran García on the right and falls! A contact was there, but will the VAR intervene?
7.
21:12
Due to Rayo’s early attack, Barcelona have not yet made any real representations in the opponent’s sixteen. The fact that Christensen is one of the players with the most ball contacts in the early stages speaks for itself.
4.
21:08
Barcelona unsurprisingly have more possession in the early stages. They play with a back three consisting of Araújo on the right and Eric García on the left and Christensen in the middle. Jordi Alba, then left defender when the opponents have possession of the ball, pushes forward and tries to create space. The guests start early and want to stop Barca’s quick combination game.
1.
21:03
The game begins, the guests have toasted. A direct first push lands in the gate.
20:48
Referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández of his 189th game in the Primera Division. His assistants are José Naranjo Pérez and Diego Sánchez Rojo.
20:39
In the starting line-up for the guests, Sergio Camello is one of a total of 14 newcomers in the starting XI. The 21-year-old has been signed by Atlético Madrid for a year and replaced one of Rayo’s most famous players in Radamel Falcao on the bench. Three newcomers make their debut at Barca with Andreas Christensen, Lewandowski and Raphinha, Frank Kessié could come off the bench. Dispute Frenkie de Jong is also on the reserve bench.
20:30
Rayo Vallecano should come to Barcelona with confidence. The Madrid team finished the pre-season in 12th place and has especially fond memories of the encounters against Barca. Rayo won twice, 1-0 each time. It was the first win since the 2002/2003 season, when Barca coach Xavi was still playing himself. Since then, Rayo had often suffered high bankruptcies against Barcelona, which made the double success in the previous season all the more surprising.
20:23
However, there was great criticism for dealing with players who were supposed to disappear from the payroll in the course of the upheaval in order to be able to register the newcomers. Frankie de Jong should either forgo a lot of salary or be sold, both of which the Dutchman rejected. Lawyers have already approached the players’ union AFE in Spain and the international professional body FIFpro to denounce the club’s behaviour. Manchester United and Chelsea are in the room as interested parties, to be continued. Striker Martin Braithwaite is now also said to be persuaded by the club to terminate his contract.
20:14
In Barcelona there was a lot of excitement about the permission to play for the new signings Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Frank Kessié. Ousmane Debélé and Sergi Roberto were also on the brink of signing contract extensions as Barcelona continue to break the league’s fair play rules despite some sales. Among other things, the club had sold the naming rights to the stadium, which is now called “Spotify Camp Nou”. Another deal worth millions on Friday evening brought certainty that, with the exception of Kounde, all the players in question had received permission to play the Rayo game. For Kounde’s eligibility to play, a further reduction in salary is required by August 31.
20:04
Welcome to matchday 1 of the 2022/2023 season in the Spanish Primera Division! FC Barcelona will face Rayo Vallecano at the start. The game kicks off at 9:00 p.m.