Rayo Vallecano secured a shock 1-0 win at Barcelona in Sunday night La Liga action to effectively hand Real Madrid the title.
La Blaugrana completed their long standing game in hand at the Camp Nou, with the Spanish top-flight on a break this weekend, due to the Copa del Rey final.
However, despite Xavi looking to keep up their faint title hopes, they have now ended any chance of hauling back their El Clasico rivals in the final weeks of the season.
Alvaro Garcia’s early goal proved to be the decider for Rayo despite Barcelona launching a fierce second half fightback.
🤩 That feeling when you give your side the lead in the Camp Nou, enter Álvaro García…
📺 See if @FCBarcelona can comeback against @RayoVallecano on #LaLigaTV!#LaLigaFanCam pic.twitter.com/ZfNJXcAEi5
— LaLigaTV (@LaLigaTV) April 24, 2022
Teenage star Gavi saw an effort come back off the post before the break, before substitute Adama Traore missed a huge chance, and Ousmane Dembele’s strike was cleared off the line, during 14 minutes of added time at the end.
💙❤️ @FCBarcelona are pushing for an equaliser in #BarçaRayo but haven't found a way past @RayoVallecano just yet…
📺 See if they can on #LaLigaTV pic.twitter.com/q8sfjYDTDq
— LaLigaTV (@LaLigaTV) April 24, 2022
Real Madrid now need just a point from their remaining five games of the campaign, starting at home to Espanyol next weekend, with Barcelona hosting Mallorca.