Barcelona were forced to battle back from behind to earn a 3-1 win against relegation-strugglers Rayo Vallecano and maintain their seven-point lead in La Liga.
Real Madrid loanee Raul de Tomas’ driving run and artful low finish gave the capital side – who came in on a five-match losing streak – hope of a shock upset, plus an 11th top-flight strike for him of a productive campaign.
The champions remained undaunted at Camp Nou, however, and centre-back Gerard Pique nodded in a Lionel Messi free-kick to level on 39 minutes. They then took the lead on 56 minutes when Portuguese right-back Nelson Semedo was felled and the aforementioned Argentina icon marked his 443rd league run-out – going second on Barca’s all-time list – by tapping in a penalty-kick.
A ninth home win of the season was then secured through Uruguay striker Luis Suarez’s close-range effort on 82 minutes.
Here are the player ratings:
BARCELONA (4-3-3)
Marc-Andre ter Stegen 6: Precious little to do, except pick the ball out of his goal. Blameless in face of De Tomas’ precision, that denied Germany No2 third-successive clean sheet. Was only shot on target faced.
Nelson Semedo 6: Mixed bag from erratic Portuguese. Did not get anywhere near close enough to De Tomas, yet drive going forward saw him earn crucial spot-kick.
Gerard Pique 7: Pique learns from his mistakes. Skewed header embarrassingly wide in early throes. A free-kick from opposite flank then saw him flick home the opener. His three headed goals is more than any other La Liga defender this term.
Samuel Umtiti 5: France centre-back still appears hampered by an ongoing knee complaint. Backed off De Tomas, when in past might have charged forward. Only one interception, two tackles and zero clearances.
Jordi Alba 6: Surprisingly quiet match from the Spain livewire. Not usual incessant outlet for crosses, putting in just two.
Arturo Vidal 8: Dominant figure in the midfield. Whenever Rayo tried to break, the Chile veteran was there. Led the way with eight tackles and 116 touches.
Sergio Busquets 7: An expert in making the difficult look effortless. Nice mix between himself and the lively Vidal. Cynically/professionally booked for tactical foul.
Arthur 6: Brazil midfielder is finding his way back from injury. Registered an impressive 93.5-per-cent pass accuracy. Hooked at break. Barca will hope he’s not suffered a relapse.
Lionel Messi 8: Marked his special night by rolling home the penalty, making score 2-1. That’s now 26 goals in 25 La Liga matches in 2018/19. Earlier, teed up Pique to get a 12th assist.
Luis Suarez 7: Profited against tiring defence, placing ball into an empty net. That’s five goals in six matches against Rayo.
Philippe Coutinho 5: Powderpuff shot in first half evidenced lack of assuredness. No key passes, plus just one of his two shots were on target – the aforementioned meek effort. Last scored or assisted on January 30, nine run-outs ago. Exited to some booing.
SUBSTITUTES
Ousmane Dembele 6: Buzzed about, without making a direct impact.
Ivan Rakitic N/A: Roundly cheered when thrust on and two-minutes later came up with assist for Suarez’s tap-in.
Malcom N/A: Just the nine touches for Brazilian winger.