BAR 3:1 VLL | FC Barcelona - Rayo Vallecano (LaLiga)

LaLiga

Osasuna – Atlético

0:2 (end)

Barcelona – Rayo Vallecano

3:1 (end)

final

FC Barcelona

3:1 (2:0)

Rayo Vallecano

Sunday 17.03.2013, 21:00 • LaLiga

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		In the second half Messi made everything clear early with a perfect lob after a fast counter attack of the hosts. When Tamudo entered the pitch for the guests he scored after just one minute and both teams had several big opportunities to change the result further into their favour but failed all of them. With his win Rayo stay outside of the European spots while Barcelona re-gained their 13-point advantage torwards second-placed Real Madrid.
		Game over.
	90+3	Piqué misses a header from short distance.
	90+3	Messi with a lob from the right side of the guest six-yard box, the ball lands on the goal.
	90+2	Another dive by a Rayo player inside the Barca area.Was the third or fourth time tonight...
	90	Three minutes are added to the game.
	90	Another distance shot by Piti. Hits the side netting.
	89	Dangerous free kick position for the guests from about 22 metres but Gálvez only hit the wall.
	87	Alexis Sánchez with a nice dribbling inside the guest area, gives the ball back to Dani Alves but the Brazilian defender fails to controll the ball and his shot goes wide.
	85	Last change of the match. Domínguez who was among the best players of the guests is substituted by youngster Isaac for the last minutes.
	84	Piti with a shot that would have went in just below the crossbar but Pinto used both fists to make the save!
	83	Barca with a lot of arrogance. Three or four of their players stood close to the penalty shot point and any of them could have easily scored but they tried to humiliate the guest defense who then were able to block the shot for a corner.
	82	Last possible change by the hosts. Alex Song is in the match for Cesc Fábregas.
	81	Offensive foul by Piti against Busquets at the Barcelona area.
	79	This time Alexis Sánchez tried it with a shot from the right side of the guest area but there was not enough pressure behind his scoring attempt.
	78	Villa with a shot from about 20 metres distance, no problem for Rubén.
	77	Next big opportunity for the guests! Piti's shot went just inches past the right post!
	76	Tamudo with a shot from short distance that is blocked at cost of a corner. The former Espanyol striker makes the guest defense nervous!
	75	Messi tries to controll the ball inside the guest area with his chest and receives a little contact by Gálvez but that was not enough for a penalty! Just before this scene a shot by Dani Alves towards the right top corner was cleared in a spectacular way by guest goalkeeper Rubén!
	74	The home fans claim a penalty shot after a sliding tackle against Messi but the defender played the ball and the game continues with a corner.
	72	Messi with a shot from about 10 metres towards the right top corner but Rubén made a spectacular save!
	71	Lass with a shot from about 20 metres, hits the side netting! Barcelona sleeping?
	70	Goal for Vallecano! And the new man RAÚL TAMUDO scores from short distance after a pass from the right wing! What a start for him!
	69	Living Espanyol legend Raúl Tamudo enters the pitch for Delibasic. The home fans are not really happy to see him back as he is known for stealing a championship from them!
	68	Rubén (Rayo) gets a yellow card for shooting a ball outside of the pitch because there were two balls in play. Strange decision by the referee...
	66	Long ball by Barcelona but a guest defender intercepts it.
	64	Iniesta leaves the pitch with standing ovations. In for him is Thiago.
	63	Tito (Rayo) gets the next yellow card for a hard entry from the side against Mascherano.
	62	First change by the guests. Lass enters the pitch for Adrián.
	60	Alexis Sánchez received the ball close to the penalty shot point but instead of trying it himself with a shot he looked for a team colleague and a defender made the interception.
	59	Perfect through ball by Messi for Villa who was through alone but he stood half a metre offside and is called back by the referee.
	58	Harmless header by the guests into the arms of Pinto.
	57	Goal for Barcelona! Corner from the right side for Rayo, the ball is cleared at the near post and the hosts have a fast counter attack! In the midfield Villa won the duel against his opponent, gave the ball to the right to LEO MESSI and the Argentinian not only went past the last defender but also score the 3-0 with a lob over Rubén! What a goal!
	55	Corner for Rayo from the left side, Chori Domínguez tried it with a direct shot from the right side of the Barca six-yard box and his shot hit the side netting!
	54	Messi with a nice pass to the right side of the guest area to Alves, he gives the ball back to Alexis Sánchez and the Barca striker missed the wide open net from short distance! Incredible!
	53	On the other side of the pitch it was Piti who tried it with a shot from the second row towards the right bottom corner but Pinto made the save without problems.
	53	Cross by Fábregas from the left wing but intercepted by a defender.
	52	Alexis with a handball after a long pass by Jordi Alba...
	51	Messi tried to back heel the ball to Dani Alves at the right side of the guest area but a defender was in between.
	50	Distance shot by Chori Domínguez into the arms of Pinto.
	48	After a through ball towards the right side of the guest area Dani Alves received the ball and tried it with a shot from a sharp angle towards the right corner but only hit the goal post!
	47	More or less the same picture as during most parts of the first half so far. Rayo with a lot of ball possession inside the Barca half but they aren't able to create even a minimum of danger.
	46	Start of 2nd half.
		Rayo Vallecano started aggressively but after 15 minutes Barcelona found into the game more and more before Villa and Messi gave the hosts a solid 2-0 lead and assisted in the goal of each other. Stay tuned for the second half!
		1st halftime finished.
	45	One minute is added to the first half.
	44	David Villa with a shot from the left side of the guest six-yard box, goes a couple metres past the right post!
	43	Long ball for Messi but the small Argentinian lost the aerial duel with the last defender.
	42	Mistake by a Rayo defender who played the ball back to Rubén unintentional so that the guest goalkeeper was allowed to catch the ball.
	41	Corner by Rayo from the right side, cleared by the defense.
	40	Goal for Barcelona! After a long ball Villa gave a perfect assist for LEO MESSI who fired the ball into the left bottom corner from within the guest area for the 2-0 lead!
	37	There is not as much speed in this match as in the begin. Barcelona wait for more space while Rayo aren't able to get past the Barcelona defense.
	35	Piti with a shot from the left side of the Barcelona area towards the near post, easy save for Pinto.
	34	Nice combination by the guests at the Barcelona 18-yard box but two players slipped and they lost the ball before the rebound went wide past the right post.
	32	The guests lack ideas when they get into the Barcelona half. A long cross from the right half field was easily cleared by a defender.
	30	After a fast counter David Villa waited too long and tried it with a lob from the border of the 18-yard box. He rather should have passed the ball towards the left wing to his team colleague.
	28	Roberto Trashorras (Rayo) gets a yellow card for protesting too much and shooting the ball away after he was called back for a handball - which was the wrong decsion by the referee.
	27	Rayo don't look shoked at all after this goal against. They continue with a lot of ball possession in the Barcelona half.
	25	Goal for Barcelona! What a beautiful counter by the home side!!! First Leo Messi went easily past the first defender and then he gave a perfect through ball to the left side past another two defenders and from the border of the 18-yard box DAVID VILLA scored into the right top corner for the deserved Barcelona lead!
	23	Barceona already have to take their first change. Adriano leaves the pitch with an injury and in for him is Dani Alves.
	22	Distance shot by the guests towards the middle of the goal but Pinto didn't want to risk anything as the shot was very hard.
	21	Messi received the ball at the border of the Rayo area but his following lob was intercepted by a defender!
	20	After a lob towards the right side of the guest six-yard box Alexis wasn't able to controll the ball and it went wide.
	19	Brutal entry by Mascherano in the midfield against José Carlos. The Barcelona defender played the ball but he also risked an injury!
	18	The following free kick from the right outside lane was boxed away by guest goalkeeper Rubén.
	17	Piti (Rayo) sees the first yellow card of the match for a hard entry against Alexis on the right wing when he came too late.
	15	Underdogs Rayo keep the game surprisingly open in this first 15 minutes without creating much danger themselves though.
	13	Distance shot by the hosts, goes wide significantly.
	12	Iniesta with a dribbling against three defenders inside the guest area, doesn't get through.
	11	Alexis wins a throw in against Domínguez deep in the Barcelona half.
	10	A Rayo defender almost lost the ball in front of the own area and then Busquets commited an offensive foul.
	8	During the following Rayo counter Domínguez went down inside the Barcelona area in a duel with Mascherano and the hosts claim a dive - the replay proofs them right. There was no contact at all!
	7	Leo Messi takes the free kick himself and his shot hits the crossbar!
	6	Foul by Gálvez from the side against Messi just 20 metres in front of the net. Excellent free kick position for the home side.
	5	After a nice combination inside the guest area Messi appeared alone in front of the net but somehow a defender stopped him in the last moment. Usually the Argentinian scores in these situations!
	4	Free kick by the hosts from the right half field. They play it with a short pass that comes to Adriano but his shot from about 30 metres distance goes wide significantly.
	3	Counter by the hosts but a defender intercepts the following through ball 30 metres in front of the guest net.
	2	Chori Domínguez forces a first corner for the guests against Piqué which then is clearedy easily by the Barcelona defense.
	1	The guests start very aggressively. Trashorras with a shot from the right side of the Barcelona area that hits the side netting.
	1	Game started.
		Starting lineups: FC Barcelona: Pinto - Adriano, Piqué, Mascherano, Alba - Fábregas, Busquets, Iniesta - Alexis, Messi, Villa Rayo Vallecano: Rubén - Arbilla, Figueras, Gálvez, Tito - Adrián, Trashorras - J. Carlos, Domínguez, Piti - Delibasic Referees: González González
		FC Barcelona are first in Primera División with 71 points in 27 games and a superb 23-2-2 record which gives them a 10-point advantage towards second-placed Real Madrid who already played yesterday against Mallorca. Today's guests Rayo Vallecano are currently 8th with 42 points. With a win today they could make a big step towards the European spots who are three points ahead of them. In recent weeks Barcelona had more problems than expected in the league and in the Copa del Rey where they lost against Real Madrid in the semifinals but with a historic 4-0 they qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals against AC Milan. In Primera División they won their last match at home against Deportivo La Coruña (2-0). For Rayo the last weeks were a constant up-and-down. In their last two matches they had positive results though when they travelled to Deportivo La Coruña (0-0) and received Espanyol Barcelona (2-0). The head-to-head record shows rather not surprisingly a clear advantage for Barcelona, especially in their home stadium Camp Nou. In the last four matches Rayo always were butchered with a goal difference of 0-19. Everything but another clear win for Barcelona would be a huge surprise. If this happenes, we'll see soon.
		Welcome. Game starts at 20:00 GMT / 21:00 CET.

Commentary by

Dennis Mende

Goals & lineups

Goals: 25. Villa, 40. Messi, 57. Messi – 70. Tamudo

Cards: 17. Piti (RAY), 28. Trashorras (RAY), 63. Tito (RAY), 68. Rubén (RAY)

FC Barcelona: Pinto - Adriano (23. D. Alves), Piqué, Mascherano, Alba - Fábregas (82. Song), Busquets, Iniesta (64. Thiago) - Alexis, Messi, Villa

Rayo Vallecano: Rubén - Arbilla, Figueras, Gálvez, Tito - Adrián (62. Lass), Trashorras - J. Carlos, Domínguez (85. Isaac), Piti - Delibasic (69. Tamudo)

Referees: González González