Barcelona left it late but came away with a 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Saturday night.
Luis Suarez scored the opener in the 11th minute but Jose Pozo restored parity 10 minutes before the break and Alvaro Garcia’s goal just before the hour mark put the hosts ahead.
Vallecano looked on course for a famous win until the 87th minute when Ousmane Dembele equalised. Suarez then bagged a dramatic late winner in the final minute to complete the comeback.
Here, we rate the performances of the Barca players.
STARTING XI
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – A couple of routine saves but nothing spectacular. Not much he could do for either goal. 5
Sergi Roberto – Produced a superb cross to the far post for Suarez to stab home the winner. Had his work cut out for him on the right as he was given little support. 7
Gerard Pique – Was beaten to the near post which led to Alvaro Garcia’s goal. Made a fair amount of clearances but never looked comfortable. Set up the equaliser. 6
Clement Lenget – Struggled to deal with Vallecano’s pacey attack and went into the book for his troubles. started to get closer to the attackers later on though and make tackles. 5
Jordi Alba – Bombed down the left flank at every opportunity and did well to set up the opener. Was caught out a couple of times at the back. 6
Ivan Rakitic – Recycled possession well but didn’t offer the kind of drive Barca needed from midfield. Offered nothing from a defensive aspect. 5
Sergio Busquets – Couldn’t shield the defence on his own, needed his fellow midfielders to track back. Sprayed the ball around well, hitting 14 of his 18 long passes. 6
Arthur – He’s been a revelation since being drafted into the first XI but this was his first dip in performance. His distribution was off and didn’t have the influence he normally does. 5
Rafinha Alcantara – Retaining his starting role, put in an average display. Left Roberto exposed down the right. Put his shot horribly wide just before he was hooked. 5
Luis Suarez – Slotted away the opener with ease and showed great alertness to score the winner. Looked lively as he has done in recent times but lacked support. 8
Philippe Coutinho – Normally a wily playmaker, he just never looked like making things happen. His passing was a little hit and miss while he uncharacteristically failed to threaten the goal at all. 4
SUBS
Ousmane Dembele – Came on early in the second half and looked out of sorts for the most part but scored a crucial equaliser late on. 6
Munir El Haddadi – Replaced Coutinho in the 67th minute but was equally anonymous. 4
Arturo Vidal – Barcelona looked more solid in midfield when he was introduced. 5
