Despite Barcelona following suit with a well-deserved loss in the capital, the champions’ chances of successfully defending their title are all but over after their loss at Girona on Tuesday.
A narrow victory over Atletico on Sunday is their only victory in their last four league games as Xavi’s team struggles to the finish line and their first championship since 2019.
Before the game, the coach of Barcelona cautioned his players to be wary of Rayo’s threat, but they disregarded his advice. In their last four league encounters, the Catalans have failed to defeat the Madrid team.
We have to deserve La Liga, and today we received a defeat, Xavi said to reporters, adding that the league is not yet over. What irritates me is that we didn’t compete today the way the game required. But since there is another game on Saturday, we will get players back from injuries.
Many teams have lost here, and others have struggled mightily to triumph. Fortunately, there is a second game on Saturday. While Sergio Busquets, the team’s captain, was out due to suspension, Pedri received his first start since suffering an injury in February.
Alvaro Garcia’s drilled goal across Marc-Andre ter Stegen and into the bottom corner gave Rayo the lead early on. In a one-on-one situation, Rayo custodian Stole Dimitrievski denied Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski, and the Pole later had a goal disallowed for offside.
After the break, Rayo increased their advantage when left-back Fran Garcia pressured Frenkie de Jong, won the ball, and then drove in to score. They say the giant-killers are back, so we knew it was a significant day for us, said Fran Garcia.
The atmosphere is indescribable, and we want to recreate it as closely as we can. After Franck Kessie’s shot was blocked, Lewandowski scored for Barcelona to break a four-game goalless streak for the top scorer in the division.
Rayo managed to hold on for only their second victory in their last 11 league games, and coach Andoni Iraola’s third in four games against Barca.
– Celebrations at Atletico -Atletico Madrid put on a fun performance in their victory over Mallorca, celebrating the club’s 120th anniversary, with Antoine Griezmann at the centre of it once more.
At the Metropolitano, the forward provided two assists as the home team scored through Rodrigo de Paul, Alvaro Morata, and Yannick Carrasco. Atletico Madrid profited from Real Madrid’s Tuesday 4-2 loss to Girona to trap their neighbours.
Atletico had their celebrations cut short early on because they were wearing special blue and white kits at home to commemorate the occasion of their anniversary; the design was based on their very first shirt.
Simeone told DAZN, With this atmosphere, it’s impossible not to get caught up in. Getting back on our feet after such a bad start (to the season) fills me with pride, because it was not easy.
After 20 minutes, Matija Nastasic scored against the flow of play by heading in a corner for Mallorca. After Predrag Rajkovic parried a shot from Griezmann, the Frenchman crossed the rebound for his teammate to score in first-half injury time.
When Nahuel Molina crossed the ball and Morata powerfully headed the ball home, Atletico took the lead early in the second half. After 77 minutes, Carrasco scored the third goal on the break after Griezmann set him up with a beautiful lob pass. Carrasco then rounded Rajkovic and finished.
With a 2-1 victory over Getafe, Almeria moved up to 15th place, while the hosts fell to 17th, one point above the bottom three, where they could fall based on other results on Thursday. Defender Joseph Aidoo’s diving header helped Celta Vigo defeat bottom-of-the-table Elche in the dying minutes.
