Liga: Held by Rayo Vallecano, Barça hands the championship lead to Real

Held 1-1 away to Rayo Vallecano, the reigning Spanish champions suffered their first setback in La Liga on Sunday, leaving Real Madrid, who beat Mallorca 2-1 on Saturday , to take the lead. Barça, struggling in the game, (4th, 7 points) was held to a draw by a combative Rayo side who created the best chances of the match, letting their first valuable points in the title race slip away.

The young Catalan prodigy Lamine Yamal had given his team the lead by converting a generous penalty that he had himself won (40th, 1-0), but the home side equalized in the second half from a corner (67th, 1-1). Hansi Flick's men, who had a lot of trouble getting their team game going on a Vallecas pitch in very poor condition, even avoided the worst thanks to their goalkeeper Joan Garcia, imperial on his line and logically elected man of the match for his numerous saves (28th, 33rd, 72nd, 73rd, 90th).

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Constantly searching for depth behind the Barcelona defense, which was lined up high up the pitch, the Madrid club also scored two goals disallowed for offside (64th, 86th). This match was the third consecutive away game for the Catalan club, still without a stadium or visibility, while waiting for the green light from Barcelona city hall to finally be able to play again at the Camp Nou, which has been under construction since the summer of 2023.

The five-time European champions still hope to return to their legendary stadium after the international break on September 14th, when they host Valencia on Matchday 4. In Sunday's other matches, Villarreal (3rd, 7 pts), leaders before the start of Matchday 3, were held to a 1-1 draw by Celta Vigo (14th, 3 pts), and Espanyol Barcelona (5th, 7 pts) beat Osasuna (13th, 3 pts) 1-0. Athletic Bilbao (3rd, 9 points) won the clash between European contenders (2-1) against Betis Sevilla (8th, 5 points), despite former OM striker Cédric Bakambu reducing the score at the very end of the match.