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4 - 0Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona (Barcelona)
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Due to their participation in the 2011 FIFA World Club Cup, Barcelona have been scheduled to play Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday night.
Barca's defense and attack will unite in a bouncing back mission.
The pressure is strictly on second-placed Barcelona to get a good result on Tuesday considering the mid-table status of Rayo Vallecano. The good news for Pep Guardiola is that his colleague, Tito Vilanova, has been discharged from hospital following a successful operation.
Although the assistant coach will need at least three weeks to get fully fit, his encouraging condition should boost the team’s spirit.
Besides this, the Catalans can build their confidence on their remarkable ability to bounce back over the past few years. Their strength at the Camp Nou is also difficult to break. Barcelona have gathered as many as 19 points from a possible 21 at home in La Liga.
It might take more than just luck for Rayo Vallecano to prevent Pep Guardiola’s men from grabbing victory on Tuesday night. After suffering a 6-2 trashing in the hands of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, how must Rayo Vallecano view their chances of embarrassing the Blaugrana?
The differences between Barcelona and Rayo are plenty ahead of the match. Mathematically, they are 12 points apart. Rayo have conceded almost twice more than Barca in total.
Another interesting statistic reminds that Guardiola’s defense has yet to allow a goal at the Camp Nou. Could one bet on any player from Rayo Vallecano’s team to stain the Catalans’ clean sheet record on home soil?
Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Match Statistics
Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Match Report
Pep Guardiola was certainly right to dismiss claims about a possible crisis at Barcelona. The Catalans have just defeated Rayo Vallecano 4-0 at the Camp Nou.
Alexis Sanchez enjoyed a wonderful night with a brace as Barcelona cruised past Rayo.
Pep Guardiola lined up Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and Eric Abidal in defense. Xavi, Iniesta and Keita filled up the starting XI’s midfield positions. David Villa, Lionel Messi and Alexis Sanchez completed the coach’s 4-3-3 formation.
From the first minute of the game till the end of proceedings, Barcelona imposed themselves. Rayo Vallecano were sure of enduring a merciless encounter considering the Catalans’ desire of bouncing back from the Getafe defeat.
Andres Iniesta scared off goalkeeper Cobeno with a long-range shot inside the second minute. A chance presented itself before Alexis Sanchez a few moments later but the Chilean wasted Lionel Messi’s effort through a poor strike.
However, Barcelona didn’t stop applying pressure on Rayo and their good work paid off in the 29th minute. Alexis Sanchez redeemed himself with a wonderful goal set up by Xavi.
The former Udinese striker doubled his tally 4 minutes before the break as Xavi clinched his second assist of the night. David Villa put Barcelona in comfort zone inside the 44th minute with a low shot to finish off Alves and Pique’s great combination.
Lionel Messi, who looked energetic all night long, closed the scoring sheet with a solo effort just moments after the second period went underway. What more could Pep Guardiola ask of his stars?
Barcelona’s comfortable win over Rayo Vallecano means that the gap at the top of the table has been reduced from 6 points to 3.
Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Videos
Highlights
All Goals
1-0 Sanchez 29'
2-0 Sanchez 41'
3-0 Villa 43'
4-0 Messi 50'
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