Three takeaways from Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona dropped their first points of the season against Rayo Vallecano last night as they could only manage a tame 1-1 draw against Inigo Perez’s side. Truth be told, even that result is kind on them.

Lamine Yamal gave Barcelona the lead in the first half after winning and then converting a penalty, but Rayo Vallecano’s incessant attacks meant that the equaliser was always just a matter of time.

Eventually, substitute Fran Perez levelled the scores for the hosts with a great volley from a set-piece and brought the game back to life, after which it was pure domination from the hosts.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points from Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Barcelona.

Joan Garcia announces himself at Barcelona

It has been a long time since Barcelona have seen their goalkeeper win them points and be their best player on the field, but what Joan Garcia did last night was just that.

The new signing was not just sensational, he was the Catalans’ best player on the field by some distance. His display, in many ways, can be seen as an announcement of his arrival at the club.

Joan Garcia was simply impenetrable at Estadio de Vallecas, and truth be told, the Blaugrana would have lost by some margin had another player stood in his position.

In 90 minutes on the field, the former Espanyol player made a staggering five saves, all of which came from inside the box. All his saves were reflex actions in fractions of seconds, and the player was simply unbeatable even in 1v1 situations.

Only once did the ball get past him, that too owing to poor man-marking from the defence and thus cost Barcelona two points. If Garcia can maintain the same level he showed last night, he could well go down as one of the team’s greatest keepers ever.

The defensive experiment

Kounde had a difficult night on his first start. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Hansi Flick’s primary centre of experimentation last night was the defensive unit, where he changed all personnel barring the left-back where Alejandro Balde continued as the mainstay.

Eric Garcia shifted from right-back to centre-back and was partnered with Andreas Christensen, who was given a start ahead of Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi.

Jules Kounde, instead, slotted into his duty at right-back, providing cover in the department where he showed he can be one of the best in the world last season.

Truth be told, Barcelona’s centre-back pairing did far better than the previous two games, and the only reason they looked overwhelmed at times was due to Rayo Vallecano’s impressive attacks and not their own shortcomings.

Christensen, starting a game after a long time, was rock-solid in defence and with his distribution and even lunged into some dangerous last-man tackles with precision. Garcia, meanwhile, was questionable with his distribution but served as a solid partner.

Kounde, however, dropped a surprisingly poor performance as he looked lost on the field. He did not foray forward, made the wrong runs and looked clueless with the ball at his feet – presumably the reason why Garcia has been starting ahead of him this season.

Going ahead this season, it is likely that Flick shifts Eric back to right-back and pairs Christensen with Cubarsi at centre-back. Kounde’s participation will depend on his form and may well be restricted to right-back once more.

Big points dropped

The biggest takeaway from the game at Vallecas last night was the scoreline at full-time, which read 1-1 – a stalemate between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano.

Truth be told, the Catalans were outplayed by the hosts to a large extent on the night and were lucky to get away with a point, for their performance was not worthy of even that consolation.

Barcelona simply had no response to the hosts’ energy, high press and ruthless attacks on the night and struggled to create anything meaningful with the ball.

Their midfield was largely overrun, barring a few moments of brilliance, the attacking midfield was non-existent, and the wingers were largely kept out of the game by Rayo Vallecano’s defence effectively.

The result thus brings Barcelona their first dropped points of the season – two massive points that see them slip from the lead in La Liga and ends their perfect run early on in the season.

Now, both Real Madrid and Athletic Club are still on nine points in three games, and Barcelona currently sit in fourth place with seven points.

The silver lining, if one is to be sought, is that the team have seen through three of the most difficult away games and will hope to return to the Spotify Camp Nou after the international break.