Barcelona is going to win this League in the style of Kipchoge the marathons. surplus. But he’s going to do it at his own pace, not the Kenyan’s. The defeat of Real Madrid in Girona did not go well for Xavi’s team. I changed the chip. Having the title so close at hand reduces tension even if you don’t want it and that’s what happened to Xavi’s men in Vallecas. They suffered a defeat -the third- that does not hurt in sporting terms because it does not affect the classification, but it does in terms of mood and image level because it spoils the immaculate season in terms of numbers they were doing. Rayo de Iraola has gone four games without losing the Catalans and is the second team to score more than one goal against Ter Stegen in a clash. They take 11 points from Real Madrid with 21 left to play. He has it done, but not as soon as they expected.
Vallecas is not an easy field and I am not saying that because of its size. You have to go out very psyched up to stop the suffocating start that those from the strip usually do. The Bara did not, it came out soft, and those of Iraola ate them with intensity from the initial whistle. After 20 minutes, the locals could be winning 2-0 perfectly. They did not achieve it thanks to the usual: Ter Stegen. You can talk about Lewandowski’s goals in the first round, about the solvency of the central defenders… but the German goalkeeper is guilty of more than half a title. His miraculous saves have given many points to Xavi’s men, thanks to which they have that great advantage. Before the Lightning He saved Camello’s 1-0 shot with a great save but he couldn’t a few minutes later with a great cross shot from Álvaro García.
Those two plays came after two turnovers by Pedri and Gavi under strong pressure from the Rayistas. Iraola, who should have a street in Vallecas when he leaves, has left his mark on a team that plays by heart and wants to fight until the end to achieve a place in Europe. They have it close and it is not impossible. Bara was not used to seeing themselves behind on the scoreboard this season and reacted to the goal. A counter led by Raphinha left Lewandowski in a position to tie, but Dimitrievski stopped his launch with his face. The Pole did score a few minutes later from a pass from Pedri, but the VAR annulled it for offside. The midfield of the azulgranas did not appear and the vallecanos hardly suffered until the break.
In the second half, Xavi’s men repeated their mistake. They did not go out for the game and Rayo increased their lead shortly after the restart. Bad pass to De Jong that he cannot control and theft from Fran García who goes straight to Ter Stegen and hits him with a cross shot. 2-0 with goals from the two García Rayistas and the Bara against the ropes. Pedri did not appear on his return to ownership, De Jong is not Busquets and Lewandowski ended his drought but he is not the one before the World Cup. The victory against Atlético was an oasis and Bara de Vallecas remembered the one that played against Girona and Getafe: no ideas.
Xavi was removing the entire midfield from the field as the minutes passed, sending them a signal about where the game began to be lost. The other is clear: they have scored only two goals in their last five games. Lewandowski cut the gap in the 83rd minute, but it was a mirage. Rayo did not suffer and with ols in the stands the end was reached.
