Barcelona made it eight wins from nine La Liga games this season with a thumping 5-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in Madrid tonight.
It was the home side that started the match the stronger, but Barcelona moved ahead after 20 minutes when David Villa latched onto a Cesc Fabregas pass before converting from close range.
A Lionel Messi effort just after the break secured a two-goal lead, before strikes from Xavi, Fabregas and Messi added gloss to the scoreline in the final 11 minutes.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two La Liga rivals.
Match statistics:
Rayo Vallecano:
Shots 15
On target 3
Possession 42%
Corners 7
Fouls 18
Barcelona:
Shots 15
On target 10
Possession 58%
Corners 4
Fouls 14
Was the result fair?
On the balance of play, you would have to say yes. In truth, it was never a 5-0 match. Barcelona deserved all three points, but they added gloss to the scoreline with three goals in the final 11 minutes of play. Rayo had 15 attempts on goal – the same as Barcelona – but they hit the target with just three of them and struggled to maintain a real attacking threat.
Rayo Vallecano's performance
5/10. In fairness to Rayo, they played with plenty of heart and desire this evening. They were also one of very few teams who have actually 'played' against Barcelona. Whether or not that they will come to regret that after losing 5-0 remains to be seen, but they will go into training on Monday knowing that they left everything on the pitch.
Barcelona's performance
7/10. Strangely, it was not one of their better performances. That is something that seems to have been said in the early stages of the season, but they have won eight of their opening nine league games. They didn't really start playing until the second period, but they turned on the style late on when Rayo had nothing left in the tank.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Cesc Fabregas: It was another fine display from the Spanish midfielder. He had a bit of an average campaign with Barcelona last season, but another goal and an assist summed up what has been a fine season for the former Arsenal man thus far.
Biggest gaffe of the match
Victor Valdes might have been embarrassed in the first half when he let a back-pass go under his foot, but luckily he was far out enough to repair the damage. It could have been so much worse for the Barcelona goalkeeper.
Referee performance
Miguel Perez Lasa had a fairly solid 90 minutes of action this evening. However, he perhaps should have awarded Barcelona a penalty when Fabregas was felled by Jose Manuel Casado in the first period.
What next?
Rayo Vallecano: Rayo will attempt to return to winning ways in La Liga when they face Malaga next Saturday. Meanwhile, they are in Copa Del Rey action against Las Palmas on Wednesday.
Barcelona: The Catalan outfit must negotiate a Copa Del Rey clash against Deportivo Alaves on Tuesday before returning to league action at home to Celta Vigo next Saturday.
Matt Law
