5 Things we learned from Barcelona’s resounding win over Rayo Vallecano
This team is so much fun to watch. I can’t help but have so much admiration towards Hansi Flick’s Barcelona side and the way they play football, even after going a goal down when Alvaro Garcia sprinted past Kounde too easily before cutting the ball back to Sergio Camello who smashed the ball into the roof of the net to put Vallecano 0-1 up in the 11th minute. This Barca team doesn’t panic and hit back just seven minutes later as Pedri played a brilliant pass into Xavi Espart who’s first time pass into Raphinha was excellent with the Brazilian feinting to shoot before rolling the ball past Cardenas to equalise for Flick’s side, barely even a minute later Barcelona went in front as Marc Bernal poked the ball to Lamine Yamal just inside the box who curled a beauty into the near-post to score his first goal of the season and put Barca ahead. The pressure did drop slightly after that second goal but Barca were happy enough to go into half-time with the lead after going behind, it didn’t take long however for Barca to score a third as Olmo played Gordon through on the left who fired the ball across the box which was diverted into his own net by Florian Lejune. Raphinha was right behind the Frenchman so he had to try and clear the ball but got his feet mixed up which put Barca 3-1 up early in the second half, Vallecano did hit back just a few minutes later from an Unai Lopez corner was headed in by Sergio Camello for his second goal of the game. As Barca alway do they just scored again as Gordon picked up the ball in the box and found Raphinha with a brilliant back-heel as the Brazilian fired low past Cardenas to put Barca 4-2 and all but finish the game, Yamal did put a cherry on top adding a fifth in the 90th minute with a pretty outrageous finish from just outside the box. A slight scare for Hansi Flick but I don’t think he’ll be too worried with his side yet again scoring five goals.
This is where the entertainment is at. I feel sorry for anyone that decided to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal over this game as you missed yet another thrilling game at the Nou Camp, realistically if your an opposition team going to the Nou Camp you have to score at least three goals if you want a chance of winning. The sheer firepower this Barcelona team possesses is frightening and we saw them at full power tonight, there were a few people worried about Lamine Yamal’s start to the season but as I said after the Athletic Club game he will start to look his normal self soon and wow was he back to his best tonight. Two goals right out of the top drawer to go along with just a brilliant performance overall, alongside him is Barcelona’s new version of Ronaldo Nazario and that’s Raphinha who has started off the season playing like a man possessed up front. Yet another two goals tonight for the Brazilian who has found his new position in this team as a number 9, although he hasn’t scored yet Anthony Gordon has taken to life at Barca like a duck to water providing a magical assist to Raphinha for the fourth goal as well as crossing the ball which led to the own-goal. The goal will undoubtedly come for the Englishman but his overall performances so far have been really good, defensively there were a couple of issues tonight without the likes of Gerard Martin and Eric Garcia which would have worried Hansi Flick with the likes of Kounde and Christensen struggling but you can understand when it’s their first starts of the season. Overall it’s a brilliant start to the season for Barcelona who are just going from strength to strength under Hansi Flick, it’s going to be a great season in La Liga.
Not much more you can do if your Vallecano. It’s a tough one to analyse for Benat San Jose as I thought for parts of the game his side actually played quite well but Barcelona were just far too strong in attack to try and keep out, the noise off the field has been very loud for Vallecano this summer with the Community of Madrid suspending Rayo’s ability to use the Estadio de Vallecas as their home stadium after an audit found serious safety, maintenance and health deficiencies all over the stadium. The club has had to play away from home whilst emergency work is carried out at the Vallecas, the supporters are obviously extremely upset with their owner Raul Martin Presa who they quite rightly blame for years of neglect of the stadium which has led to a civil war between the fans and the owner. All this in addition with losing the likes of Pep Charravia to Chelsea has led Vallecano to starting the season with one point from three games and I can easily see them in a relegation battle this year with the uncertainty surrounding the club, for a club that made the Europa Conference League final last season to find themselves in this position is a disgrace and it’s shameful that an owner can plunge the club into disarray because of their neglect. I really do hope that they can sort the situation around the stadium sooner rather than later because Vallecano will be in big trouble if they don’t.
Xavi Espart looks like the real deal. We first saw him last season when Barca had already wrapped up the league and although he didn’t really standout a few months ago he has undoubtedly caught my attention in these first few games of the season, he’s been deployed as a left-back under Hansi Flick but his primary position is a midfielder where I think we’ll see him long-term in this Barca side. some the passes he was doing today were just brilliant and summed up by the assist to Raphinha for the equaliser. Espart is clearly someone Hansi Flick trusts deeply playing 90 minutes in the first three games of La Liga with the likes of Balde and Cancelo on the bench but the German trusts the teenager to perform which shouldn’t be a surprise considering Flick’s track record when it comes to trusting young players, he’s brought through the likes of Cubarsi, Bernal, Fermin Lopez along with putting the platform in place for the likes of Yamal, Raphinha, Pedri etc to thrive at Barcelona. Espart is fast becoming undroppable in this side which isn’t something I saw coming over the summer, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the Spain squad over the next year. Keep a close eye on Xavi Espart when you’re watching Barca this season, he’s a joy to watch.
Any more business to do before the deadline tomorrow? For Barcelona it looks like Gabriel Jesus will be the last incoming which is slightly disappointing considering I though it might be Julian Alvarez but I suppose the Argentinian will have to stay put at Atleti for at least another year, I think Barca will regret not getting another centre-back but Flick trusts his back-line so we’ll see if it’s enough to see Barca competing for La Liga and the Champions League this season. For Vallecano there have been talks of a goalkeeper coming in following an injury to their back-up keeper Augusto Batalla but other than that I’m not sure anyone else is joining but obviously anything could happen on deadline day, the most important thing for Vallecano currently is getting their stadium back in a playable condition. They could easily find themsleves well in the relegation zone before the work is done, time is ticking.