Barcelona secure second place with win over Rayo Vallecano
After some uncertainty following the 4-2 loss to Girona, Barcelona confirmed their participation in next season's Spanish Super Cup.
The Catalan side did so by securing a second place finish in LaLiga after beating Rayo Vallecano 3-0.
Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for the home side just three minutes into the match as he chested down a precise cross from Lamine Yamal inside the penalty box and then rifled his shot past the goalkeeper.
With Barcelona scoring so early, a comfortable win seemed to be on the cards. But Barcelona struggled to create more goal scoring chances with Rayo Vallecano settling into the game as time went by in the first half. Something that has been all too common and why Barcelona will finish well behind Real Madrid.
The difference for Barcelona came in the second half when Xavi introduced Pedri and later on Joao Felix. It was the latter who, with a bit of an individual skill, dribbled around defenders inside the box before he nutmegged one defender and got around another before his shot was saved by Stole Dimitrievski .
The rebound landed to Pedri whose powerful shot hit a defender before ending up in the back of the net.
Only three minutes later, Ronald Araujo sent in a long ball to Pedri who controlled it well, scoring Barcelona's third and putting the game out of reach for the visitors.
"It is not a good season, but we had to get second place," Pedri said after the game. "The two goals give me confidence, I have to improve. I feel confident, we have made a lot of effort to do the final stretch of the season well."
As mentioned, with the win Barcelona secured a second place finish, meaning they won't miss out on the revenue they're guaranteed by participating in the Spanish Super Cup. It also meant Xavi picked up his first win over Rayo Vallecano since taking over as manager.
" We took second place, which was the main goal in the last month, so I am very happy and satisfied with the performance of the players, Xavi said.
"We played well. We conceded too much in defense, it's true. They created chances, but we did well. Second place is with us now and we have to be happy and rest well now."
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With second place assured, Barcelona will travel to Sevilla for the final match of the season. It could very well be the final match for a number of Barcelona players, as well as the manager, as this summer points to being one of significant change after a disappointing campaign.