Joan Garcia 9.5, Yamal 8 | Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Barcelona: Player ratings | OneFootball

Barcelona played their third straight away game of the season against Rayo Vallecano last night at the Estadio de Vallecas – one of La Liga’s trickiest away venues to play at.

Entering the game under pressure to take three points after Real Madrid’s win earlier in the weekend, Hansi Flick made massive defensive changes to improve the stability at the back while the midfield and the forward lines remained largely the same.

Lamine Yamal gave Barcelona the lead after he won and converted a penalty, but Rayo Vallecano levelled the score past the hour mark with a goal from a set-piece.

Eventually, neither side could force a winner, forcing the Catalans to drop two points.

Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Barcelona.

Joan Garcia: 9.5

The goalkeeper put up his best performance yet in a Barcelona shirt and was solely responsible for ensuring that Rayo Vallecano did not have a goal or two to their name at half-time.

Garcia popped up with great reflex saves on the night making two massive stops from inside the box in the opening 45 minutes. His distribution and sweeping were on the money too, and the player did not put a foot wrong.

Made another massive world-class save early in the second half although it did not count as the move was offside.

Alejandro Balde: 7

The left-back was inspired going forward in attack and constantly found ways to push ahead and outpace his counterpart. Linked up well with Raphinha but had a busy night tracking back and keeping tabs on Jorge de Frutos.

Andreas Christensen: 7.5

The Danish centre-back started the game for Barcelona after Flick opted to revamp the central defence completely and his performance will give the manager a lot to think about for he looked very comfortable in his position.

While Rayo Vallecano did indeed get in behind the defence on occasion, Christensen looked sharp on his side, comfortable as ever in the distribution and dominant in the air.

Eric Garcia: 7

The Spaniard shifted to centre-back after two successful games at right-back and delivered a performance that will have the manager evaluating his pros and cons in each position.

Garcia, quite clearly, was not as impressive in the central role as he was playing on the flank and his distribution was called into question multiple times as he lost the ball cheaply on occasion.

Jules Kounde: 6

The Frenchman made his first start of the season and looked slightly lost, and understandably so given that he has not played a whole lot from pre-season.

Kounde’s distribution was wayward and he surprisingly struggled with his connection to Yamal. His attacking runs did not carry the same threat as they usually do, although one can pass it off as a game where he was getting back to steam.

Pedri: 7

Rayo Vallecano’s relentless press was calling out for Pedri to take control of the game, slow the tempo and retain the ball.

While he largely did so, even his wizardry was often overcome by the hosts’ energy.

Pedri’s distribution and ball retention on the night was slightly sub-par compared to normal, likely as a result of the hosts’ inspired press. He did, however, put in a strong defensive shift when off the ball.

Frenkie de Jong: 7.5

A tough night for Barcelona’s midfield. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The Dutchman largely found himself in a situation similar to Pedri although his distribution was a bit better than his partner’s. De Jong’s composure through midfield and his ball progression were key to Barcelona building up any attacks on the night.

Dani Olmo: 5.5

Olmo was a shadow of his usual self, as has been the theme for a few months now, and was not the same box threat that he usually is.

His link-up play was average and he missed a simple chance to make it 2-0 by completely missing the target in the dying minutes of the first half.

Lamine Yamal: 8

On the scoresheet once more. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Yamal was barely involved in Barcelona’s buildup play in the first half. The youngster, who is usually the heart of every Barcelona attack, managed just 22 touches and five completed passes in 45 minutes and was kept out of the game convincingly.

That, however, did not prevent him from having an impact on the game as he won a penalty through an outrageous dribble in the box and then scored by converting the spot-kick to hand his side the lead.

Raphinha: 7.5

Raphinha was one of the players who was regularly trying to convert defence into attack by carrying the ball forward and he created a significant threat on the left flank.

Could well have finished with an assist or two had his passes been weighted better.

Ferran Torres: 7

The Shark was relatively silent on the night as he barely got any chances to poach on in the opening half.

With both wingers relatively cut off and the middle channels efficiently cut off by the Rayo, he did not receive any service as the striker,