The Barca Breakdown discuss the first day of the 2022/23 La Liga season against Rayo Vallecano. A team that beat us in both match days last season, was responsible for our third home loss, and was the final game of the Koeman era. Every Barca fan could only imagine the sweet payback Barca would get with a huge summer of signings.
However, match day 1 did not deliver exactly as fans would have thought. Xavi's starting line-up did not feature Dest, who was not even called up, nor Frenkie De Jong. Instead Araujo slotted in the right back position with Christensen and Garcia as the center backs and Gavi received a start along side Pedri and Busi. There was no other choice but to start Raphinha, Dembele, and Lewandowski in the attacking front. As one would expect, Barca dominated possession of the ball and in the first 20 or so minutes created many opportunities.
It must be said, the mid field was not an integral part of these first minutes as they were hardly involved in the build up. Instead, it seemed it was the job of the defense to get the balls to the wings and allow Dembele and Raphinha to control the ball forward. This tactic was soon after found out and Barca slowed their advances to the end of the first half. There were plenty of great opportunities though. Dembele had many services into the box to Lewandowski and Raphinha. Many of which were snuffed out by the goal or off the mark. Rounding into the second half it seemed that Barca just could not break the defense of Rayo in addition to their time wasting. The game certainly picked up when Frenkie subbed in. He was able to dribble the ball down the center, creating lethal opportunities. Despite all best efforts, FC Barcelona could not find the back of the net and leave their first game of the season with a 1 point. Hopefully the team can become more cohesive through the next few games to find the net. Xavi will need to make some adjustments including starting Frenkie and not keeping in Busquests for a full 90.