Rayo-Barça hot takes: The 'best league in the world' makes a fool of itself again

BarcelonaA fighting Rayo Vallecano short-circuited Barça's game, which was unable to get past a draw (1-1) in Vallecas and dropped their first two points in the league. Here are the match highlights:

Without VAR. The match began without this useful tool, which is turning the Spanish League into a chaotic ecosystem due to its misuse. The server went down, and Rayo Vallecano vs. Barça kicked off like the old days, with the referee's discretion as the sole God. At this point, in the first 12 minutes of the match, the incident remained a curiosity because there was no action worthy of intervention. But the server went down again at the most inopportune moment: when referee Mateo Busquets awarded a penalty for a fall by Lamine Yamal shortly before halftime. Although the penalty was dubious, there was contact between Pep Chavarría and Barça's number 10. Perhaps VAR wouldn't have intervened anyway, but the fact that the referee didn't even have the option to check it is yet another ridiculous act from the body presided over by Javier Tebas.

Joan Garcia's first exhibition. Against Mallorca, he earned a red card and was just another spectator afterward, and against Levante, he conceded two goals that any goalkeeper would have conceded. Few conclusions could be drawn from Barça's new goalkeeper. In contrast, in Vallecas, Rayo Vallecano exploited the reflexes of the former Espanyol player, who prevented four clear goals and, consequently, the defeat of a Catalan side that went from strength to strength. Everyone already knew that Joan Garcia is a sure thing with a tight defense, but since this Sunday, it's also clear that every time an opposing player gets behind Barça's high defense, there will be someone ready to save the day.

Hansi Flick renews the loan. Barça's start to La Liga before the international break, despite the draw at Vallecas, is robust enough to suggest nights spent drinking cava when spring arrives. The performance shown (if you put aside the decrease in intensity against Rayo Vallecano) dispels fears that Flick's Barça's last season was merely a one-year affair in which the stars came together. There is continuity in the matter. This causes (and will cause as long as the ball is in) potential fires such as the continuous delays and uncertainty about the return to Camp Nou, the need to re-enroll in order to register players and sponsorship with the Democratic Republic of the Congo remain, for the moment, as anecdotes.

A template to believe in, however. Even if it's through methods unbecoming of a club like Barça, the reality is that Laporta will finish the transfer market this Monday having assembled another squad that aspires to everything, especially if Fermín stays at home (he played half an hour in Vallecas). Joan Garcia brings both the present and the future to the goal, and Rashford adds depth to a forward line that was short on players. The problem lies in the defense, with the uncertainty that it leaves. the march of Iñigo MartínezFlick, for the moment, is undergoing tests. Neither of the two center-backs destined to start in the big games were in the starting lineup in Vallecas. The odd pairing was Eric Garcia-Christensen.