Barcelona veteran’s three key contributions prove vital in 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano | OneFootball

FC Barcelona got a hard-fought win over Rayo Vallecano last night and were rewarded for their suffering and efforts by getting the top position in La Liga.

One can argue that this match was won by some great individual performances from the Blaugrana side. Robert Lewandowski scored the only goal of the game, Wojciech Szczęsny was again key in the goal, while Pedri once again put on a spectacular display that earned him the Man of the Match award.

However, as Mundo Deportivo has noted, the most influential player in this game was none other than the center-back Iñigo Martínez, whose three actions proved to be decisive for his side on the night.

First, it was a foul on him by Pathé Ciss that led to a penalty, which was converted by Robert Lewandowski, and which remained the only goal scored in this game.

The action started with a corner when most of Barcelona’s players were targeting the near post while Iñigo Martínez was attacking the far post. However, Cisse grabbed him in this action, and after the referee missed this action, the VAR intervened to ensure a penalty was awarded to the Blaugranes.

Later, in the dying minutes of the first half, Rayo ended up putting the ball in the back of the net. However, this goal was ruled out for offside, and Martínez was once again in the center of things as while Jorge de Frutos, the scorer, was in an onside position, Randy Nteka was found to be interfering with the run of the Basque defender while being in an offside position. Thus, the goal was chalked off.

Lastly, Martínez was once again key as Rayo once again beat Szczęsny, and sent a shot that was going to end up in the back of the net. However, the former Athletic Club centre-back was able to head the ball out of play, and saved his team once again.

Thus, there is no doubt that Iñigo Martínez was the most influential player last night, and without these three key interventions, Barcelona would not have been able to get the three points.