Barça Overcomes the “Bees” and Rises to the Top of Spain After Two Months
Lewandowski nets a crucial goal for three vital points, Photo: Reuters
Barcelona eagerly anticipated Monday night, marking two months since they last claimed the top spot in La Liga… And they achieved it, not through a dazzling display like in previous matches, but by securing three crucial points.
Hansi Flick’s squad overcame a determined Rayo Vallecano, who were on a three-match winning streak, with Robert Lewandowski converting a penalty in the 28th minute (1:0).
This victory against the modest Madrid team propelled Barça to the top of La Liga, thanks in part to a more favorable goal difference compared to Madrid giants, Real.
El Clasico rivals sit at 24 points after 51 rounds, while Atletico Madrid, just a point behind, is experiencing one of the most thrilling seasons to date, and Athletic Bilbao, trailing by six points, remains hopeful.
The match at Montjuic was marked by VAR decisions, the first of which resulted in a penalty awarded to Barcelona.
Following a corner from the home side, Pate Sis continually pulled at Injig Martinez, and despite the ball not reaching the Barça goalkeeper (who had been challenged by Augusto Batalha), the verdict was clear – a penalty for the “blaugrana”.
Lewandowski confidently converted the penalty. Few anticipated that the single goal of the match would come in the 28th minute, marking his 20th goal of the season as the top scorer in La Liga.
Despite having several more opportunities to extend their lead (with Rafinha not in form this time), Barça also faced precarious moments from the “bees”.
The first incident arose in the 44th minute when VAR intervened again to disallow a goal by Jorge de Frutos, despite him not being offside. Randi Nteka was deemed to be offside, as the referees likely decided he obstructed Martinez’s attempts to stop De Frutos’ attempt.
Alfonso Perez Burul, a former referee now affiliated with Radio Marca, asserted that Nteka did not impact the play since Martinez would have had insufficient time to intercept the shot from the Rayo player.
Barça’s failure to secure a second goal earlier could have been costly in the 90th minute when De Frutos narrowly missed a header from close range.
Ultimately, this match further heightened the rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona, so it was unsurprising to see Marca’s headline from Catalonia.
“New leader and new controversy”.
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