Iraola knows well how to deactivate Barça. Rayo managed to beat the azulgrana both in Vallecas (1-0) and Camp Nou (0-1), thus becoming the only team in LaLiga to do so this season. An unprecedented fact also in the history of the Strip, since they had never beaten the Catalans twice in the same championship. It’s more, he had only done it once in a Barcelona feud: on May 6, 2000, with a double from Bolo. A victory, that of Sunday, which also certifies the permanence of the people of Madrid.
Rayo unhinged Xavi’s Barça and got an 8.35 mark, compared to the 5.91 obtained by the azulgranas, according to Olocip data. Artificial Intelligence determines that two of the three worst matches of the Catalans this year have been against Iraola, who seems to have the measure taken. In fact, the note of Koeman’s Barcelona in Vallecas takes the cake. With a 5.49 he becomes the lowest of the Blaugrana this 21-22. Only Atlético, in the Metropolitano, sneaks onto the podium with the red-haired ones. There the Catalans harvested a 5.7.
Despite that 8.35 rating, Sunday’s duel was not the best for the Vallecanos this season. Only Rayo-Mallorca surpasses it, when they brushed the outstanding, with 8.81, according to Olocip. During that clash on November 22, Sergi Guardiola and Álvaro made it 2-0 in just twenty minutes and Trejo scored the third with a Panenka-style penalty. Abdón closed the gap in 88′ (3-1) and this extended the spectacular streak of the then called ‘EuroRayo’. The best venue in the five major leagues.
If there is a man who stood out at the Camp Nou it was Álvaro Garcíascorer of the winning goal and top scorer for his team with six goals —the same as Sergi Guardiola—. Artificial Intelligence confirms that the winger was the player with the greatest impact in the contest, followed by his teammates Dimitrievski and Catena. To find a Barça footballer, you would have to look at the fourth and fifth places in the ranking, occupied by Dembélé and Busquets, the only ones who would be saved from the burning…
Álvaro was crowned the most outstanding of the match, with a grade of 8.6, but his importance does not end there. The winger is, as Olocip reveals, Rayo’s best in terms of game changes, shot selection, driving… To the point of being the player who focuses the most in LaLiga. If the Sevillian takes the gold, Dimitrievski would hang the silver.
The Macedonian international, with a score of 8.03, kept a clean sheet at the Camp Nou. The second in a row, after having locked it 72 hours earlier in Cornellà. The goalkeeper has been under the post the eight times that the red-haired team have not conceded a goal. Two of them against Barça. Already in the first round he shone, obtaining the best evaluation, after stopping a penalty against Memphis. Artificial Intelligence considers him, therefore, the Rayista in the best shape.