‘You can’t always win 2-0 or 3-0’… Barcelona defender highlights importance of clean sheet in Rayo Vallecano win | OneFootball

FC Barcelona returned to the top of the La Liga table following a break of around two months as they got the full three points in their last game against Rayo Vallecano at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid had both dropped points on Saturday, thus allowing the Catalans to work their way back to the summit of the league table.

However, getting there was not really easy, as Rayo Vallecano put up quite a stern test. Fortunately, Hansi Flick’s men were able to get the job done, with Robert Lewandowski’s lone penalty being the difference between the two sides.

Several Blaugrana players talked to the media after the game, and as Mundo Deportivo has reported, one of them was the defender Alejandro Balde. Naturally, the fullback was happy with his team’s return to the top of the table:

“We knew it was very important to win the three points to become leaders, and we managed to get it done.”

The Spaniard also hailed the defensive performance put in by his team in this game:

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

There were several points of controversy in this game, and the Barcelona fullback was asked about these. However, he gave his opinion on only one of these events:

“The penalty on Iñigo? It seemed like a clear penalty to me, a clear grab. The important thing is the three points.”

Balde played quite a good game as he helped his team keep a clean sheet, and thus get the full three points from a highly intense game. He was once again at his best in advancing the ball forward with his feet, and thus contributed to both ends of the game.