Barcelona

Barcelona will be hoping to start their 2022-23 La Liga campaign with a win when they host Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Saturday.

They have been prudent in the transfer market and have bolstered their squad with mostly free agents and loan deals. Rayo Head coach Iraola has no injury concerns to deal with before the game and has the full squad available to him. Rayo Vallecano squad and team news The Liga fixture will be broadcast in the United Kingdom on Premier Sports 1 and La Liga TV. It will be available to stream live through Premier Player. Meanwhile, Rayo achieved their best league finish in half a decade as they ended their 2021-22 campaign in 13th spot after getting promoted to the top flight last season. Barcelona will be hoping to start their 2022-23 La Liga campaign with a win when they host Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Saturday. The Catalans finished second in the league last season, 13 points adrift of champions Real Madrid, and will be aiming to bring back the Liga trophy to Catalunya following several key signings in the summer.

FC Barcelona will have all but one of their star acquisitions this summer when they host Rayo Vallecano in the start of the 2022/23 La Liga season during ...

10th min.: Quiet start to this one until Raphinha makes a run into the right side of the Rayo box and goes down on a challenge from the left back. 1st min.: Rayo kick off and they're aggressive from the start with a direct ball, and they're pressing high. 45th min.: Jordi Alba makes a key defensive intervention in the box to clear a cross that was heading to Rayo's Isi Palazon. Five minutes of stoppage time. He doesn't give them a chance to finish out the play and the bench is livid. Barcelona are aggressive, with and without the ball. He tried to make the best of a poor Raphinha cross in the first half, and then he had a chance to be the hero with six minutes remaining, but he could not contort his body quickly enough to take advantage of a rebound allowed by the Rayo 'keeper. That was the best chance of the game. 52nd min.: Another chance for Rayo! Sergio Camello runs onto a ball into space and it's chaos in the Barcelona defense. The Dutch do-it-all player gave Barcelona a lift when he came off the bench to play midfield. To add insult to injury, captain Sergio Busquets was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card after a high arm in the face of Rayo's Falcao. Lewandowski was the prize catch of the summer for Barcelona, and he was supposed to help resolve matches like these with opponents interested only in defending and countering. And there are plenty more of these matches left on the calendar.

Jules Kounde's 12th-hour omission from Barcelona's La Liga squad may not be solved anytime soon with the central defender forced to sit-out Saturday's ...

Barcelona boss Xavi will have to sell players or reduce the club's wage bill to register Kounde - Barcelona will have to cut their wage bill or sell players to raise more funds - The £42million defender was unable to be registered with the league in time

Barcelona have successfully registered four of their five summer signings ahead of their LaLiga opener against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.Robert Lewan.

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Barcelona kicked off their La Liga campaign vs Rayo Vallecano tonight in front of a near-sold out Camp Nou. Three new signings in the form of Robert ...

The Pole could have won a penalty in any other league, but it was not to be with La Liga’s referees. His off-the-ball runs caught Rayo off-guard often, and he even forced a solid save from Stole Dimitrievski. Garcia, on the contrary, was rather careless. Eventually, he was sent off in injury time. Christensen had the best game of all debutants tonight. Araujo started as a right-back, and looked unsurprisingly out of his depth in possession.

Barcelona were held to a disappointing goalless draw by Rayo Vallecano as a summer of uncertainty off the pitch spilled over into their LaLiga opener at Camp Nou on Saturday. Barca's frustration was then amplified in stoppage time when Sergio Busquets ...

Another of the new signings, Raphinha, then had Barcelona's clearest chance of the first half to break the deadlock. It's a shame because we wanted to show the fans that we're on a good path. "We will have to analyse the game, improve and keep believing in the model of play.

Match report and player ratings from Barcelona's La Liga meeting with Rayo ...

The debutant repeatedly ran into a crowd of striped shirts. Rayo almost immediately took advantage of their extra man, creating an overload from the subsequent set-piece as Salvi Sanchez forced Ter Stegen into a stellar save at the death. Both Bundesliga alumni wasted openings, with Aubameyang forcing a goal-line clearance from Alejandro Catena in the final five minutes. SUB: Ansu Fati (60' for Raphinha) - 6/10 - Looks like the ball is magnetised to his boots because of the razor-sharp movement which creates space for himself. The visitors only had one shot in the opening 45 minutes but Alvaro Garcia perhaps shouldn't have taken it. Rayo, who beat Barcelona home and away last season, waited until the ball went into midfield or out wide, using the touchline as an extra player, to press their hosts.

Man United agreed a fee in principle with Barca for De Jong back in June but they are still to sign him.

"He’s in the squad and we will use him. However, MEN Sport understands that the Reds have reluctantly decided that they must also pursue other midfielders. Despite this, as recently as the end of last week, United were still focused entirely on securing the signature of De Jong having ruled that their alternative options were not as strong as the 25-year-old.

Xavi's new signings couldn't make an impact at Camp Nou in their first LaLiga match of the season, with Lewandowski failing to find the net.

It's a shame because we wanted to show the fans that we're on a good path. We will have to analyse the game, improve and keep believing in the model of play. Luis Suarez's goal in 2019 was the Catalan's last against Rayo. That's not down to luck. The pre-game optimism of the 81,000 fans at Camp Nou turned to whistles in the second half as Dimitrievski time wasted at every opportunity. He made six saves in total on a memorable opening day for Rayo. No one deserves too much criticism for Barca dropping points, but left-back Jordi Alba was perhaps the player furthest away from his best. Luckily for Barca, goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was in good form to ensure they didn't suffer a third straight defeat to Andoni Iraola's team. Iraola is a fantastic young coach and he has some talented players, despite not having a penny to spend. Busquets was shown a late red card for a second booking. When Lewandowski did beat him early in the first half, the flag went up. Barca do not have enough salary space to register the defender yet. Since losing to Rayo in April, Barca have spent over €150 million on new players.

No football club on the planet has attracted more attention with their summer transfer dealings than Barcelona. Despite seemingly not having more than two…

Barcelona have no hope of recouping the £112.5m that they paid to Borussia Dortmund in 2017. The Danish frontman has scored just five La Liga goals since. However, any transfer fee they do receive must now be split 50/50 with Dembele under the terms of his fresh contract. He left for West Ham after a mere two seasons. He joined Vissel Kobe on a free transfer in 2019. When his contract expired at the end of last season, La Blaugrana had the opportunity to cut ties with the winger after a dismal four years. Dembele’s Barca career got off to the worst possible start when he suffered a hamstring injury on his La Liga debut which ruled him out for four months. Having made his name at Atletico Madrid playing just off of a central striker, Griezmann was immediately posted out of the wing at Barcelona and never truly adapted to it. Voted the worst player in La Liga during his debut campaign, Gomes didn’t even manage 50 La Liga outings for Barca before moving to Everton. On the pitch, the Cameroon international never really fit with Barcelona’s style of play and the team was often said to be worse when he was a part of it. All figures quoted have been taken as per Transfermarkt. A casualty of Barca’s desperate need to raise funds last summer, Royal joined the club from Real Betis on July 1 for £12.6m. Within two months, he was on the move – sold to Tottenham for a profit of close to £10m.

Sergio Busquets was sent off as Robert Lewandowski's Barcelona debut against Rayo Vallecano ended in a frustrating stalemate.

Elsewhere, Oliver Burke scored a 95th-minute equaliser after coming off the bench as Werder Bremen came from behind to draw 2-2 at home to Stuttgart, and Schalke needed a Marius Bulter penalty in the third minute of stoppage time to match their feat against Borussia Monchengladbach. The home side had Youssouf Fofana sent off for a challenge on Martin Terrier with just 15 minutes gone and trailed to Gaetan Laborde’s 59th-minute goal before Embolo intervened. Assan Ceesay’s equaliser looked to have claimed a point for Lecce, but substitute Denzel Dumfries won it for the visitors in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Goals from Iago Aspas and Goncalo Paciencia either side of half-time looked to have put the hosts in the driving seat, but Edu Exposito halved the deficit with 18 minutes remaining before Joselu held his nerve to earn a point. Joselu won and converted a penalty in the eighth minute of added time as Espanyol staged a remarkable fightback to draw 2-2 at Celta Vigo. The Spain midfielder was dismissed for a second bookable offence in stoppage time at the Nou Camp on a night when Lewandowski was unable to open his LaLiga account at the first time of asking.

Barcelona wants to offload the 25-year-old to balance the books and have enough room in its budget to register new defender Jules Kounde but De Jong appears ...

How are we allowing ourselves to be put in a position like that? And he's looking around and saying "not for me." It's all or nothing for him, he no longer has anything to lose.'

Steve McManaman tore into Barcelona Saturday after their 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano, calling the Catalan club 'not good enough' and casting doubt on their ...

'At the end, the chances arrive, but you didn't finish them. 'Yes they've got a host of new signings, listen I love Lewandowski, I think he's world class, but a lot of the other signings… 'It's not easy when you're in front of the goal, and I think I saw that in Raphinha in the first half. Lewandowski hit the target with just one of his five shots, and Raphinha didn't find the target once. The ex-Barca and Liverpool midfielder acknowledged the underwhelming debuts of Lewandowski and Raphinha, who were off the mark with nine shots between them. Barca opened their La Liga campaign with the disappointing home result, and McManaman was not impressed as the club dropped points with a host of big names in their squad.

Barcelona dominated the match with almost 70 per cent of possession and 18 goal attempts to two for Rayo Vallecano but Robert Lewandowski and co were unable ...

Maybe the pressure and expectation got a little under our skin," Xavi told DAZN. Barcelona dominated the match with almost 70 per cent of possession and 18 goal attempts to two for Rayo. Barcelona dominated the match with almost 70 per cent of possession and 18 goal attempts to two for Rayo Vallecano but Robert Lewandowski and co were unable to find breakthrough

Robert Lewandowski's Barcelona debut ended in a disappointing 0-0 home draw with Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou in their first LaLiga game of the season on ...

Maybe the pressure and expectation got a little under our skin," Xavi told DAZN. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Sergio Busquets was sent off as Barca were forced to settle for a goalless draw.

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As reported by Telegraph reporter Mike McGrath, midfielder Frenkie de Jong has decided to prioritize Chelsea over Manchester United if he is to leave ...

McGrath writes that Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is looking to add one more player, and Frenkie de Jong suits the bill to perfection. It’s clear that Barcelona are not ruling out de Jong’s departure as they understand his exit would free up significant space in terms of finances. The Red Devils had an agreement in place with Barcelona for long but given their absence in the UEFA Champions League, they were unable to convince the midfielder to become their new signing.

Arch-rivals Inter Milan were also victorious as striker Romelu Lukaku announced himself with a goal just two minutes into his return. Assan Ceesay's equaliser ...

Assan Ceesay’s equaliser looked to have claimed a point for Lecce, but substitute Denzel Dumfries won it for the visitors in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Elsewhere, Oliver Burke scored a 95th-minute equaliser after coming off the bench as Werder Bremen came from behind to draw 2-2 at home to Stuttgart, and Schalke needed a Marius Bulter penalty in the third minute of stoppage time to match their feat against Borussia Monchengladbach. Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring with 49 minutes gone, but Baena killed off any hopes of a fightback with 81st and 90th-minute strikes. Villarreal substitute Alex Baena scored twice inside the final nine minutes to ease his side to a 3-0 victory at Real Valladolid. Goals from Iago Aspas and Goncalo Paciencia either side of half-time looked to have put the hosts in the driving seat, but Edu Exposito halved the deficit with 18 minutes remaining before Joselu held his nerve to earn a point. The Spain midfielder was dismissed for a second bookable offence in stoppage time at the Nou Camp on a night when Lewandowski was unable to open his LaLiga account at the first time of asking.

The Catalans dominated the game and had 21 shots as opposed to Rayo's meagre four. Ansu Fati, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Sergio Busquets came very close ...

The pressure is now on Xavi to work out a solution. After the game, Andoni Iraola revealed that they had a special plan to neutralise Lewandowski’s threat. In 90 minutes, he made four saves to deny the Blaugranas a goal, including two from inside the box. The hosts had a staggering 21 shots on goal, including six on target. They dominated the game with close to 70% possession and had eight corner kicks. The season is long, and this is just the start.

Carlos made his home Premier League debut on Saturday lunchtime, having joined Aston Villa for £26 million, while surgery has meant that Kounde is not available ...

This was a chance for Spanish football to stand up to its biggest financial basket-case and demand that it played by rules that were fair. That was a bona fide sporting achievement, and while Kounde would surely have left the club anyway, there is no such solid explanation for how the rules governing FFP permitted him to end up at Barcelona. Barcelona, on the other hand, appear to operate under an entirely different set of rules. For those who can afford it, like the state-owned clubs upon whom the Super League rebels have declared war, the battle against a strong FFP has been won in court. This was the chance for Javier Tebas, La Liga’s president, to intervene. But this month it has done nothing to stop Barcelona, the debt-zombie, lurching onwards, selling today for the possibility of an enormous pay-out somewhere in the future.

Former champions Barcelona were off to a frustrating start to their La Liga 2022-23 campaign as the side remained unable taste the triumph as Rayo Vallecano ...

Things got even more frustrating for the side in the extra time as their captain Sergios Busquets walked off the field after being given a red card. Iago Aspas scored in the final minutes of the first half to give Celta Vigo the lead, and Goncalo Paciencia scored in the 63rd minute to give the side a solid 2-0 lead. SPAIN: Former champions Barcelona were off to a frustrating start to their La Liga 2022-23 campaign as the side remained unable taste the triumph as Rayo Vallecano held their nerves to force a draw.

FRENKIE DE JONG is angry with Barcelona and has made a decision over his future with Manchester United interested.

De Jong has made clear his desire to remain at the Nou Camp this summer. The Spanish outlet claim De Jong, who was initially understood to be unwilling to join United, has now performed a U-turn and is open to the idea of linking up with Erik ten Hag's Red Devils. Manchester United have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Frenkie de Jong following reports that the Barcelona midfielder has made a U-turn and is now open to joining the Red Devils this summer.

Patience is the name of the game for Barcelona after head coach Xavi played down his side's draw 0-0 with Rayo Vallecano on the opening day of the new La ...

It was a match to be able to earn it well.' 'I don't want to look for excuses. The Blaugrana's dominated possession and testing Vallecano's keeper six times during the match.

Former Netherlands attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has expressed his discontent with the whole Frenkie de Jong situation, saying that Barcelona ...

But as of now, we judge it differently and I find it a disgrace when you play for them,” he concluded. Van der Vaart also added that this kind of treatment is putting Barcelona in a bad place. You sign a contract and then you fulfil the contract or leave on good terms, but not like this.

PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG to Chelsea is gathering some momentum with Barcelona willing to talk.

It is claimed that Barcelona want a fee in the region of £20m while Chelsea are edging towards 'making a reasonable offer'. The report adds that Chelsea may seek a loan deal while paying Aubameyang's full wages for the season. With Barcelona now registering their new signings, it appears as though they're ready to discuss the possibility of letting Aubameyang leave.

Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen were all registered last week after the club sold a further 24.5 per cent of Barca ...

'Exits are still being worked on. Barcelona president Joan Laporta refused to rule out further signings this summer despite the LaLiga club struggling to register all their new players. Barcelona president Joan Laporta, seen with new signing Robert Lewandowski, hasn't ruled out the possibility of further signings this summer

Barcelona will demand a big fee from Chelsea for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang even though he joined the club on a free transfer this year.

We had a very close relationship. While the Catalan club are optimistic they can get a decent fee from Chelsea, the west Londoners are thought to have baulked at that asking price and would want to pay considerably less for a player in the twilight of his career who is on big wages. Barcelona are looking to secure a fee in the region of €25million (£21m) to €28million (23m), which is around half the fee they paid Bayern Munich for Lewandowski – which is being used as a barometer.

Bernardo is a firm fan favourite at the Etihad and received a rousing reception when he emerged from the bench against Bournemouth on Saturday. Fans sang his ...

So we have to keep going, play as a team and especially act." Erik ten Hag, who worked with De Jong at Ajax, was left fuming on the touchline as four quickfire goals saw the Red Devils go into the break 4-0 down. After the game, Ten Hag admitted: "It's a surprise when you start the game like this; in 35 minutes conceding four goals. So, the team has to take responsibility. They give everything to support us and we let them down. It may be a tough sell to convince the 25-year-old to join United after their hammering at the hands of Brentford on Saturday afternoon.

Bernardo Silva now looks more likely to leave Manchester City, with reports now suggesting Barcelona have begun negotiations to sign the Portuguese ...

Manchester City are unwilling to sell, but will consider if the fee involved is a significant fee. - Watch: Kevin De Bruyne Puts Manchester City 2-1 Up Over Club America - Watch: Kevin De Bruyne Scores To Put Manchester City 1-0 Up Over Club America