Cubarsi and Balde react after Barcelona 1-0 Rayo Vallecano – ‘There’s still a lot of the league left’ | OneFootball

Barcelona secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano, a result that propelled them to the top of the La Liga table.

However, defender Pau Cubarsi remained composed and did not get carried away by the achievement, recognising that there is still a long way to go in the season.

He acknowledged the significance of the win, especially in a match where securing the three points was crucial, but he also stressed the need for consistency in the coming fixtures.

“There’s still a lot of the league left and we have to keep going like this. The feeling is good because we won a difficult game, which was very important to win in order to be first and we did it,” said the defender after the game.

Discussing the penalty incident

Pau Cubarsi said Barcelona deserved the penalty. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Discussing the key moments of the match, Cubarsi addressed the contentious penalty decision involving Inigo Martinez.

He was convinced that it was a clear penalty but refrained from commenting on the complaints raised by the opposition regarding another possible incident. In his view, if the referee decided not to award it, then it was not considered a foul.

“I saw Inigo’s penalty clearly, I didn’t see the one they complained about, but if the referee didn’t call it, it must be because it wasn’t,” he added.

The young defender also reflected on Barcelona’s performance in both attack and defence. He admitted that while Rayo Vallecano had their opportunities, Barcelona also missed several clear chances in the final third.

“They had some chances, but we also missed some clear chances in the final third. We did keep a clean sheet, which was important.”

Alejandro Balde talks

Alejandro Balde put on a great performance against Rayo Vallecano. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Alejandro Balde also shared his thoughts on the match and the team’s position at the top of the league.

He underlined the importance of collecting all three points to move into first place and praised the defensive efforts that helped secure the result.

“We knew that it was very important to win the three points to take the lead and we were able to pull it off,” he began saying.

“We are very happy with the clean sheet. We have to give credit to the defensive phase, today we knew how to suffer, we have to know how to do it and today we did it. You can’t always win 2-0 or 3-0.”

Balde also addressed the refereeing decisions, particularly the penalty incident involving Martinez.

He firmly believed it was a clear foul due to the holding involved but chose not to comment on other disputed decisions.

“The penalty against Inigo? I thought it was a clear penalty, a grabbing. The important thing is the three points,” he concluded.

Source: Mundo Deportivo