New signing Dani Olmo netted the winner on debut for FC Barcelona, who rallied from behind to defeat Rayo Vallecano 2-1 on Tuesday night.
LALIGA
Result: Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Barcelona
Date: 27 August 2024
Venue: Estadio de Vallecas
Coach Hansi Flick made just one change from the win over Athletic Bilbao, with Gerard Martin coming in at left-back for Alejandro Balde while Olmo was named on the bench after being registered by the club.The Catalan giants did not get off the best start after falling behind on ten minutes, as Unai Lopez found the back of the net with a first-time finish following some good work by Jorge de Frutos.
It took a while for Barcelona to get going in the first half as Lamine Yamal and Raphinha were both kept quiet down the respective flanks, which led to a lack of chances for Robert Lewandowski, who had scored three goals in his last two games.
That proved to be the trend for the remainder of the first half for the Catalan outfit, although Vallecano were also unable to add to their advantage before the halftime break.
Barcelona responded with a change at the start of the second half as the fans finally got a glimpse of Olmo who replaced Ferran Torres for his official debut.
The Spain international nearly made the perfect impact just before the hour mark via a quick free-kick but the midfielder's powerful strike crashed against the crossbar with goalkeeper Dani Cardenas well beaten.
Barcelona got their reward on 60 minutes when Raphinha got free in the box and picked out Pedri, who managed to get the ball out of his feet before firing into the far corner for his first goal of the season.
The visitors had the ball in the net with 20 minutes to play as Yamal's low shot deflected into the patch of Lewandowski, who showed great composure from a tight angle but after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR), the goal was ruled out for a foul in the build up.
The Catalan giants were not to be denied on 82 minutes when Olmo marked his debut with a goal after collecting a pass from Yamal before curling the ball into the far corner to seal maximum points.
