Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano

Barcelona kicked off their La Liga campaign vs Rayo Vallecano tonight in front of a near-sold out Camp Nou. Three new signings in the form of Robert ...

The Pole could have won a penalty in any other league, but it was not to be with La Liga’s referees. His off-the-ball runs caught Rayo off-guard often, and he even forced a solid save from Stole Dimitrievski. Garcia, on the contrary, was rather careless. Eventually, he was sent off in injury time. Christensen had the best game of all debutants tonight. Araujo started as a right-back, and looked unsurprisingly out of his depth in possession.

Despite a scramble to register its new star acquisitions the day before the La Liga season opener, they couldn't help FC Barcelona find the back of the net ...

10th min.: Quiet start to this one until Raphinha makes a run into the right side of the Rayo box and goes down on a challenge from the left back. 1st min.: Rayo kick off and they're aggressive from the start with a direct ball, and they're pressing high. 45th min.: Jordi Alba makes a key defensive intervention in the box to clear a cross that was heading to Rayo's Isi Palazon. Five minutes of stoppage time. He doesn't give them a chance to finish out the play and the bench is livid. Barcelona are aggressive, with and without the ball. He tried to make the best of a poor Raphinha cross in the first half, and then he had a chance to be the hero with six minutes remaining, but he could not contort his body quickly enough to take advantage of a rebound allowed by the Rayo 'keeper. That was the best chance of the game. 52nd min.: Another chance for Rayo! Sergio Camello runs onto a ball into space and it's chaos in the Barcelona defense. The Dutch do-it-all player gave Barcelona a lift when he came off the bench to play midfield. To add insult to injury, captain Sergio Busquets was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card after a high arm in the face of Rayo's Falcao. Lewandowski was the prize catch of the summer for Barcelona, and he was supposed to help resolve matches like these with opponents interested only in defending and countering. And there are plenty more of these matches left on the calendar.

Get a report of the Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano 2022-23 LaLiga football match.

Another of the new signings, Raphinha, then had Barcelona's clearest chance of the first half to break the deadlock. It's a shame because we wanted to show the fans that we're on a good path. "We will have to analyse the game, improve and keep believing in the model of play.

Barcelona will be hoping to start their 2022-23 La Liga campaign with a win when they host Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Saturday.

They have been prudent in the transfer market and have bolstered their squad with mostly free agents and loan deals. Rayo Head coach Iraola has no injury concerns to deal with before the game and has the full squad available to him. Rayo Vallecano squad and team news The Liga fixture will be broadcast in the United Kingdom on Premier Sports 1 and La Liga TV. It will be available to stream live through Premier Player. Meanwhile, Rayo achieved their best league finish in half a decade as they ended their 2021-22 campaign in 13th spot after getting promoted to the top flight last season. Barcelona will be hoping to start their 2022-23 La Liga campaign with a win when they host Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Saturday. The Catalans finished second in the league last season, 13 points adrift of champions Real Madrid, and will be aiming to bring back the Liga trophy to Catalunya following several key signings in the summer.

Join AS USA for live LaLiga action as Barcelona take on Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on 13 August.

Rayo break on the left. Dembélé goes down the left. De Jong sends in the free but it misses everyone and ends up heading out for a corner. Dembélé picked him out after receiving a 40-yard diagonal from Busquets. Barca are using the wings to get at Rayo. Club president Joan Laporta has been playing a game of economic brinkmanship involving economic “levers” that some fear is simply another way of mortgaging the club’s future against outside elements. Dembélé is, for some reason, wearing a long-sleeved shirt even though it is 30 degrees in Barcelona. Dembélé sends in the corner from the left. De Jong was recently booed by fans outside the club's ground. It's not the result Barcelona wanted but Rayo had their chances too. Lewandowski then sends the rebound over the bar! Lewandowski picks out Aubameyang at the back post. Ansu Fati and Frenkie de Jong are warming up.

Barcelona were forced to settle for a point in their La Liga opener, thrashing out a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou.

He took 15 in total, the lowest of any Barca player. Alejandro Catena (Rayo Vallecano). Much of the credit for containing Lewandowski must go to Rayo’s centre-backs, with Catena and Florian Lejeune both putting in rock-solid performances. It’s only the second time in a home game, the last being their 0-0 draw against Real Sociedad in September 1968. While Lewandowski was much improved in the second half, he ultimately couldn’t find a way past Rayo’s defence. That seemed to throw off the former Leeds man, who went on to squander a series of set-pieces and presentable chances. He looked destined to score, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen managed to smother the shot at close range.