Rayo Vallecano became only the second La Liga team to score Barcelona two goals in a league game this season after Real Madrid back in October 2022 as they won the Catalan giants 2-1 at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas in Madrid.
Rayo had two Garcias to thank for the victory as Alvaro Garcia opened the scoring in the 19th minute before Fran Garcia doubled the lead for the hosts in the 53rd minute.La Liga’s highest goal scorer Robert Lewandowski ended his 4-game goal drought as he pulled one back for the visitors in the 83rd minute.
Barcelona are still 11 points clear at the top of the league but have now failed to beat Rayo Vallecano in the league since their 3-1 win in 2019, losing 3 of the last four played between the sides while earning a goalless draw in the other fixture. Put in context, that Robert Lewandowski’s strike was Barcelona’s first goal against Rayo in the league since 2019.
Andoni Iraola, Rayo Vallecano’s manager seems to be the brain behind Rayo’s unbeaten run against Barcelona in the league as the Catalan side’s dominance over the Madrid based team ended since he took over the club. He’s unbeaten in his first four league games against the Spanish giants.