Striker Robert Lewandowski on Monday scored a first-half penalty to give Barcelona a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano that moved them to top of the La Liga standings.
Barca took advantage of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid dropping points over the weekend to leapfrog them from third place to the top of the table.
Barca are level on 51 points with Real Madrid, but ahead on goal-difference. Atletico trail both by a point, while in-form Rayo Vallecano are sixth on 35 points.
Photo: AFP
Barca did just enough to snap Rayo’s nine-match unbeaten streak in the league, leaving them fuming over several controversial decisions by the referee.
After Pathe Ciss fouled Inigo Martinez inside the penalty area, Mario Melero Lopez awarded the hosts a penalty following a lengthy video assistant referee check. Lewandowski netted the winner with a tidy finish from the penalty spot in the 28th minute.
Despite Barca dominating possession, Rayo still looked the more dangerous of the two sides, forcing Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to put in a brilliant performance between the posts to frustrate their efforts.
Rayo players were left fuming when their pleas for a penalty were turned down after Pau Cubarsi appeared to foul Ciss — an incident they felt was similar to the one when Barca were awarded the spot-kick.
Rayo were again left outraged when Jorge de Frutos’ goal was harshly ruled out in the 42nd minute.
Defender Martinez made a crucial goal-line clearance with his head right before halftime, while Szczesny kept working his magic in the second half to help secure the three points.
However, Rayo should have scored an equalizer when De Frutos missed a header from close range in stoppage-time.
“I prefer to keep to myself my opinion regarding the referee today, but everyone acts as they should or believe they should,” a visibly frustrated Rayo head coach Inigo Perez told Movistar Plus when asked about the controversial calls.
“You always have the pain of losing, but today it will take a few hours for me to calm down considering everything that happened and the way we played. At the moment, the only word I can find is bitterness,” he said.
Earlier, Real Valladolid sacked head coach Diego Cocca after just eight games in charge, the La Liga club said, with the team bottom of the table following a run of five consecutive defeats.
Cocca was appointed on Dec. 14 last year with a contract until the end of the season, but after registering only one win in his time in charge, reserve team coach Alvaro Rubio takes over as interim head coach for the second time this campaign.
Valladolid lost six league games under Cocca, including Sunday’s 4-0 loss at home to Sevilla, and also exited the Copa del Rey to third-tier Ourense in the round-of-32 last month.
Paulo Pezzolano was sacked in November last year after a 5-0 defeat at home to Atletico Madrid, having won only two of 15 league games, and Rubio took charge for three games, winning two, before Cocca came in.
Valladolid, promoted last season under Pezzolano, are on 15 points after 24 games, eight points adrift of UD Las Palmas in 17th place outside the relegation zone, and are away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
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