Barcelona beat Rayo Vallecano 5-2 with braces from Yamal and Raphinha
Hansi Flick's side secured their third consecutive La Liga win on Monday night as Lamine Yamal and Raphinha each scored twice against Rayo Vallecano.
First-half turnaround and Yamal milestone
Barcelona maintained their perfect start to the La Liga campaign on Monday with a 5-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou. The visitors opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Alvaro Garcia outpaced Jules Kounde on the left wing and crossed for Sergio Camello, who finished into the top corner past goalkeeper Joan Garcia. The strike was the first goal conceded by Barcelona in the league this season. The hosts responded with two goals in two minutes. Xavi Espart set up Raphinha in the 19th minute, with the Brazilian forward beating Pathe Ciss with quick footwork before equalising. Two minutes later, 19-year-old Lamine Yamal capitalised on a defensive turnover to curl the ball into the top near corner, marking his 50th goal for the club. Yamal achieved the half-century mark two years younger than Lionel Messi did.
Hansi Flick praised the team's opening period after the match:
I think the first half we played really fantastic, the goal, 1-0 against us, can happen but the reaction was quite good and I loved a lot of things I saw in the first half.
Second-half pressure and decisive braces
Just before the break, a potential third Barcelona goal was ruled out when a Jules Kounde effort was disallowed for offside in the 45th minute following a VAR review. Barcelona expanded their lead six minutes into the second half when Rayo defender Florian Lejeune deflected a low cross from Anthony Gordon into his own net. Rayo Vallecano narrowed the gap in the 59th minute as Camello outmuscled Espart at a corner to head home his second goal of the evening.
- Sergio Camello scores to give Rayo Vallecano a 1-0 lead
- Raphinha scores the equaliser for Barcelona
- Lamine Yamal curls in his 50th club goal to make it 2-1
- Jules Kounde goal disallowed for offside after VAR review
- Florian Lejeune scores an own goal to put Barcelona up 3-1
- Sergio Camello heads in his second goal to make it 3-2
- Raphinha scores from an Anthony Gordon assist to make it 4-2
- Lamine Yamal scores his second of the match to finish 5-2
Barcelona restored control twelve minutes later when Gordon delivered his second assist of the night, setting up Raphinha to make it 4-2 in the 71st minute. The goal brought Raphinha's season tally to five goals across three matches. In the 90th minute, Yamal added his second goal of the match with a composed finish to seal the 5-2 result. Across the match, Barcelona held 69% ball possession and registered 26 total shots.
- Raphinha
- 2 goals
- Lamine Yamal
- 2 goals
- Sergio Camello
- 2 goals
- Florian Lejeune (OG)
- 1 goals
Tactical adjustments and squad rotation
Flick made three changes to the starting eleven from the previous 2-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao, starting Dani Olmo, Kounde, and Andreas Christensen in place of Fermin Lopez, Eric Garcia, and Gerard Martin. The Barcelona manager voiced dissatisfaction with the defensive lapses that allowed Rayo Vallecano back into the contest during the second half.
When you are 3-1 ahead especially at home you have to control the game much better.
Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus observed the match from the stands ahead of an expected two-year contract before the Tuesday transfer deadline. Flick introduced substitutions in the final half-hour, bringing on Rodri, Joao Cancelo, Karim Adeyemi, and Hamza Abdelkarim. The victory leaves Barcelona with three wins from their opening three league matches, alongside Real Madrid as the only two teams with a flawless record in La Liga.
