Barcelona moved back to the top of La Liga this evening courtesy of a 2-0 victory over nine-man Rayo Vallecano.

Lionel Messi and Neymar scored within a minute of each other in the first half to put the visitors in control at Estadio del Rayo Vallecano.

Any hopes of a comeback for the hosts were ended when Morcillo was given his marching orders on the hour mark, while Javier Aquino was also shown red in stoppage time.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at another three points for Luis Enrique's side.

Match statistics

RAYO
Shots: 14
On target: 4
Possession: 41%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 19

BARCELONA
Shots: 18
On target: 7
Possession: 59%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 7

Was the result fair?

There is no doubt that Barcelona deserved to win this match today, although they may feel that it should have been by a bigger margin. Messi was unusually wasteful in front of goal and, on another day, could have had a second-half hat-trick to go with his first-half strike.

Rayo had their moments and threatened to become the first side to score past Barcelona in La Liga this season on a couple of occasions, but there was always the lingering threat of the visitors getting in behind their defence.

The game did not seem completely over at 2-0, but the first red card changed things. Barcelona had an element of control before that, but after it they completely dominated and were attacking at will. Rayo can have no complaints at having lost this game and, if anything, may feel that they got off quite lightly.

Rayo's performance

Despite the result, Paco Jemez will be fairly pleased with his side's performance today. He will not have been banking on getting anything from the game, but they certainly managed to hold their own for long periods, eventually only being undone by a quickfire double in the first half.

The issue, as ever with Rayo, came at the back, where Jemez's tactics were questionable. They held a very high line against a pacy Barcelona front three, and the visitors got in behind them time after time. Had the final ball been better on a couple of occasions, Barca would have managed more than the two they did score.

In the end, losing 2-0 is not too bad a result considering how the match went. However, Jemez will not have been happy at losing two of his players to red cards, and those suspensions could end up being more damaging than the result itself.

Barcelona's performance

The only thing lacking for Barcelona today was a killer touch in the final third - not something you can often say about the Catalan giants. There was so much space to be exploited behind the Rayo defence, but too often a pass went astray or the runner was offside.

Messi took his goal very well but could have had at least three more in the second half had he been on top form. Munir El-Haddadi and Ivan Rakitic also missed glorious chances that could have helped Barcelona to a second emphatic result in quick succession following their 6-0 win over Granada last weekend.

Defensively, they were once again sound as Claudio Bravo made a couple of fine saves to ensure that he still hasn't conceded a La Liga goal at the club. To have scored 19 goals and conceded none at the start of a season is a sensational record, and that defensive solidity helped ensure a victory even when the attackers were not at their most lethal.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Gerard Pique: Often the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta or Messi will make the most of space in behind the defence, but it was Gerard Pique who proved to be the best at doing that today. On a number of occasions he beat the whole Rayo backline with a ball over the top, allowing those ahead of him to race on and score - as was the case for Messi's goal. Pique was also sound at the back, helping his side to yet another clean sheet.

Biggest gaffe

This one has to go to Munir, who had a great chance to make it 3-0 to the visitors shortly before half time. The youngster was through on goal and had Neymar in support but, instead of passing to the Brazilian, who would have had a simple tap-in, he went alone and was challenged - albeit probably unfairly.

Referee performance

Antonio Mateu probably should have awarded a penalty for the above incident, while his second yellow to Aquino late on was a little harsh. Despite there being two red cards, it wasn't a particularly dirty match, and Mateu didn't have a huge amount to do.

What next?

Rayo: Rayo return to action on Friday, October 17 when they travel to face Granada.

Barcelona: Barcelona, meanwhile, host Eibar at the Camp Nou after the international break.