Barcelona could only manage a 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano as they kicked off this season of the La Liga. To make matters worse, Sergio Busquets, their captain, received a red card near the end.
Catalonia scored 21 shots from the Camp Nou and took most of the possession but could not break the deadlock.
Barcelona manager Xavi has signed an end-of-season deal that includes defender Andreas Christensen, winger Raphinha, and striker Robert Lewandowski. The five-time Champions League winners had to maintain tight financial control over La Liga before adding former Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski to their squad ahead of the new season.
Barcelona Can’t Break The Deadlock
Eric Garcia, the defender for Barcelona, said that the team had every chance to win. However, after this result, they will have to rectify their mistakes as they prepare for next weekend’s match against Real Sociedad. The squad had a strong desire to begin the season with a win and was in the right mood. However, they faced several problems against Rayo in the previous year, and the opponent’s defense continued to be top-notch on that night.
Lewandowski was kept scoreless on his league debut as the home side dominated the scoring in the 30th minute. The Poland striker was adjudged offside after a pass was ruled out for Ousmane Dembele’s delicate chip finish.
With the rain at 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit) at Camp Nou, Pedri came close to breaking the deadlock in the first 10 minutes of play, but his curling effort was off the grid.
Despite the first half manager, Mark Ter Stegen kept the team level in the second half and made a great save to stop Rayo’s Alvaro Garcia in extra time. Barcelona continued to attack Rayo’s defense but was unable to beat goalkeeper Stol Dimitrievsky, who was involved in two heavy tackles on a 10th-minute own goal.
