Joan Garcia 9.0, Araujo 8.5 | Barcelona 1-0 Rayo Vallecano: Player ratings | OneFootball

FC Barcelona manage to barely get a win over Rayo Vallecano at the Spotify Camp Nou. A crucial win in La Liga, it now sees the Catalan giants temporarily increase their lead at the top of the table to seven points.

Managing a 1-0 victory against Rayo Vallecano, it was made possible thanks to a goal from Ronald Araujo. Hardly a vintage performance from La Blaugrana, but it was one that could potentially be decisive in their hunt for the La Liga title.

Here are the player ratings for the Barça players.

Starting XI:

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Joan Garcia: 9.0/10

The Spanish goalkeeper was at the top of his game in this match, and he is arguably the most important factor in ensuring that the Catalan giants got this victory. Made several crucial saves, and his composure was commendable as well.

Did not make any noticeable errors and was actually reliable in defense for the team today. However, it was his goal from the corner that ended up being the decisive one in this game, and it ended up grabbing all three points for them.

Pau Cubarsi: 7.5/10

Alongside Gerard Martin, he did extremely well to distribute the ball from the back to his midfielders and even ahead of them when needed. His defensive awareness was solid as well.

Gerard Martin: 8.0/10

Provided some great passes through the middle that helped open up the Rayo Vallecano structure, and he continues to showcase his growth both technically and in his defensive workrate as well.

Joao Cancelo: 8.0/10

Provided the crucial assist to the only goal of this game from the corner, and his chance creation even apart from that was consistent. Decent defensively as well.

Marc Bernal: 7.0/10

Solid in his duels and did well with his distribution as well. The Spanish midfielder looked composed alongside Pedri, and after he was subbed off the midfield did not feel as stable as it did when he was playing.

Pedri: 8.5/10

Immense in his duels and always composed on the ball, Pedri hardly let Rayo Vallecano breathe in this game as they tried their best to dispossess him. His distribution was solid as well, and he enabled Barcelona to create some promising opportunities.

Lamine Yamal: 7.0/10

A quiet game by his standards, he tried to create some opportunities and link up with his teammates, but Rayo Vallecano managed to neutralise him well. He had a few promising dribbles as well, but they did not amount to much.

Fermin Lopez: 6.5/10

Intense and willing to make things happen up top, he had a few exciting moments during the game. However, he was unable to ultimately thwart the Rayo Vallecano goal as much as he would have liked to.

Raphinha: 6.0/10

Underwhelming by his standards, and that is because he failed to make the most of the opportunities that came his way. Saw his press be beat quite easily, and he also squandered the most clear opportunity that Barcelona had all game, albeit he was the one who created it in the first place. Moreover, his passing was inconsistent as well in this game. However, he continued to press throughout the game and helped out defensively as well.

Robert Lewandowski: 5.0/10

Barely involved during the first half, the Polish veteran had a total of 12 touches. Replaced at the halfway mark by Ferran Torres.

Substitutes:

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Ferran Torres: 6.0/10

Did not exactly influence the game much but his pressing and intensity was much higher than Lewandowski’s.

Dani Olmo: 6.0/10

Created some promising openings, but they did not amount to much.

Marc Casado: 6.5/10

Solid in his duels in midfield, and made sure to make life difficult for Rayo Vallecano.

Marcus Rashford: 6.5/10

Added some offensive spark for Barcelona in the few minutes that he played, and he looked sharp on the counter attacks as well.

Xavi Espart: N/A

Not enough time or influence on the game to warrant a rating.