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Barcelona's top talent Gavi: disappointment against the promoted team
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Alex Caparros/Getty Images
FC Barcelona surprisingly lost in La Liga to outsiders Rayo Vallecano.
Barcelona lost 0-1 (0-1) at home and made sure that Real Madrid is very close to the championship: With five games left, leaders Real are 15 points ahead of Barça.
For Barcelona, the defeat was the third since the Europa League quarter-final second leg, when the team lost to Eintracht Frankfurt.
That game is eleven days ago, since then there was a 0-1 draw with Cádiz, a win over Real Sociedad and now the bankruptcy against Rayo.
It came as a surprise.
Álvaro García scored early to make it 1-0 (7th minute), then Barcelona pushed for an equaliser.
Jordi Alba hit the bar (25'), Gavi hit the bar a second time (45'), and in between the hosts stormed into the guest penalty area at what felt like five minutes.
But once Ousmane Dembélé was stopped at the last moment of a dribble, then a cross found no taker.
Rayo did lead at Camp Nou, but few believed that this lead would last until the final whistle when the break went on.
She held.
Barcelona remained the superior team, but for a long time the Catalans did not generate enough shots due to the game control and the many approaches to the opposing goal.
Alba shot just over the goal again (58'), Memphis Depay's shot from close range was blocked (70').
Only in the aftermath was the pressure so great that a goal seemed close.
But Dembélé only hit the post (90+3), was blocked in front of the goal line (90+13 – a long replay was made due to a break in treatment, among other things), and a number of other shots lacked precision.
The defeat not only has consequences for leaders Real: Barcelona also failed to take a big step towards the Champions League.
The club are level on points with Sevilla in third place on 63 points, followed by Atlético Madrid (61 points) in fourth place and then, outside the Champions League ranks, Real Betis Sevilla (57).
As a climber, Rayo Vallecano has nothing to do with the top places – but also not with the relegation zone.
This is a success for the climber.
And something else is remembered from this season: the club won twice against Barça.
Already in the first leg a 1-0 success was achieved.
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