The Barça of the levers could not start the championship on the right foot. The Barça of the signings stayed dry, handcuffed by a Rayo that they have not won or scored in their last three clashes. Tremendous merit for the Rayista coach, an Andoni Iraola who has shown he knows how to short-circuit the Blaugrana. Last season and this one. The league premiere was not at all what the Blaugrana parish expected, enthusiastic and dedicated and disappointed with the draw. Barcelona lacked a lot of precision to deactivate a brave and very well placed rival. He tried it by land, sea and air but always with a point of precipitation that could be fatal.
In fact, Rayo enjoyed magnificent occasions that led them to flirt with victory, such as one in the 95th minute by Salvi that forced Ter Stegen to make a colossal save, the second he made of the night. Also Barça, especially when they threw everything in the final stretch, had theirs, but without aim. To make matters worse, Busquets ended up expelled in the added period. Xavi has a lot of work to do, while the market will stay alive.
The expectation generated by Barça with its intense transfer market translated into a massive presence of the public (81,104 spectators), with a very high rate of tourists. Everyone wanted to see the team of Lewandowski, Raphinha, Pedri or the reborn Dembélé. Everyone was expecting a show seasoned with goals, with a devastating start from the Blaugrana team. But none of that happened.
In front was Rayo, a rival that seemed propitious, despite the fact that they had won both games against Barcelona last season. An intelligent team from Madrid, made and worked by the hand of a worthy coach like Andoni Iraola.
The Rayista coach raised entry lines and put pressure on Barça in their field, leaving Alba and Araújo free. The Uruguayan, moved to the right side with Dest in the stands and Sergi Roberto on the bench, had a hard time getting the ball up. It cost him a world to build and the ball output became a toothache that the neat Ter Stegen, accurate and concentrated in all his actions, tried to alleviate.
Little by little, Barça, with Christensen also making his home debut, picked up the thread. With Pedri turning around and looking for allies and with Raphinha, who this time started from the right, generating noise but without the best judgment in decision-making and execution. At least Barcelona managed to settle in the opposite field and made interesting approaches. Like a couple of loose shots from Dembélé, involved and hard-working. Or another shot deviated from Raphinha. They looked for wingers between them and Pedri tried his luck from the edge of the box with a dry shot. Meanwhile, Lewandowski lived embedded between the defenses. They threw him too high centers and canceled a goal correctly. The Pole tried to wait for his moment like the good predator that he is.
However, the one that would enjoy the best opportunity until the intermission was Rayo, with an incursion by Álvaro García that won Araújo's back. Fortunately for Barcelona, Ter Stegen took a step forward and blocked Álvaro's shot with an excellent save.
The Madrid team, an expert when it comes to wasting time with refereeing permissiveness, arrived at the break with their homework well done and forced Barcelona to reflect. The game no longer looked easy for the Blaugrana, who did have a good arsenal on the bench to try to clarify the situation.
However, the one that threatened again when leaving the locker room was lightning with a raid by Sergio Camello that did not end in a miracle goal. Iraola's team did not limit themselves to defending themselves, but went up lines, recovered balls and caused anxiety in a Barça that was not clear, stuck in the center and with a particularly confused Jordi Alba.
The set required changes and Xavi practiced three. Sergi Roberto appeared, which led to Araújo at the rear, De Jong and Ansu Fati. If there is something the young forward has, it is mordant and just going out made the Rayista goalkeeper fly. Dimitrievski himself also multiplied with another distant attempt from Busquets. It was isolated plays by Barça, which did not finish acquiring continuity, between losing time and absurd turnovers.
Xavi continued to move the tree and decided to replace Pedri to insert Kessie's muscle, who also had her chance but sent it through the roof. The embarrassment was intense and fresh legs were sought but Barça couldn't find the crack and despaired.
Although Xavi's team insisted, De Jong starred in some notable minutes and Lewandowski was close to scoring. The Blaugrana coach burned his ships and Aubameyang appeared for Alba to stay very close to 1-0. His shot saved him under Catena sticks.
The game died but Barça did not give up. He did not help him to score even in the eight added minutes, in which he played with ten. A premiere without goblin.
