Barcelona missed increasing its Spanish league lead after it lost to Rayo Vallecano 2-1 at Vallecas Stadium on Wednesday.
“They played a great match and deserved the win,” Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo said. ”We still have an 11-point lead, it’s a good advantage, and now we have two consecutive games at home and we have to win them.”
Despite its loss, Barcelona still maintained its gap to second-place Real Madrid at 11 points with seven matches remaining. It could have taken a huge leap toward getting its first league title since 2019 if it had won a day after Madrid’s 4-2 loss at Girona.
“It wasn’t a good game for us. We are upset because it was a good opportunity for us. It’s not over yet,” Barcelona coach Xavi said.
Barcelona’s next league games will be against Real Betis and Osasuna at Camp Nou Stadium. It was coming off a home win against Atletico Madrid that ended a three-game winless streak.
For ninth-place Rayo, the victory is their second in three games. Álvaro García scored the first goal in the 19th minute and Fran García scored the second in the 53rd minute. Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona after he was brought late, 83 minutes into the match. His goal was the first time Barca have scored against Rayo in four matches.
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez must have warned his players how tough their match with Rayo would be. They had lost there 1-0 last season, the result of which made Ronald Koeman lose his job, and have struggled home and away against Rayo since they returned to La Liga in 2021.
However, Barcelona still have their eyes focused on the LaLiga title which they last won in 2019. They are 11 points clear at the top and, with just seven games to go. It will be hard to see them surrendering their lead from here.
For Rayo Vallecano, they have all hopes alive. They won Barca at home last season and defeated Madrid 3-2 earlier in the current campaign.
