Rayo Vallecano vs. Barcelona: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Lionel Messi scored a hat trick and Barcelona restored their eight-point lead atop La Liga with a 5-1 victory over nine-man Rayo Vallecano on Thursday night at the Vallecas.
The visitors took the lead in the 22nd minute as Ivan Rakitic pounced on an error by Rayo goalkeeper Juan Carlos and fired home from close range. Messi added the second goal a minute later to give Barca a 2-0 lead at halftime.
Messi's second of the night made it 3-0 in the 53rd minute before Manucho pulled a goal back for the hosts four minutes later. Luis Suarez missed a penalty midway through the half, but Messi completed his hat trick in the 72nd minute.
Arda Turan then completed the rout with Barca's fifth in the closing minutes.
Diego Llorente and Manuel Iturra both saw red for Rayo, who fell to 17th place and are now above the relegation places on goal difference alone.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Luis Enrique
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Following Thursday's win, Barcelona's unbeaten run in all competitions stands at 35 games. That is a new Spanish record, replacing the old mark set by Real Madrid in 1987-88.
The result also restored Barca's eight-point lead over Atletico Madrid atop the table. Rivals Real Madrid are now 12 points behind.
To put it simply, everything is going right in Catalonia at the moment. Luis Enrique's men are the odds-on favorites to win another league title—and they also look a good bet to claim a second consecutive treble.
Loser: Inaki Vicandi Garrido
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Referee Inaki Vicandi Garrido sent off two Rayo Vallecano players. The first red card was harsh, and the second shouldn't have happened.
In the 42nd minute, Diego Llorente slid in for a challenge, winning the ball ahead of Ivan Rakitic. His follow-through took him into Rakitic, catching his studs on the Barcelona man's leg. Although the challenge was high, a yellow card seemed more appropriate, as Spanish football expert Sid Lowe noted on Twitter:
"From high up here that looked like a really wild challenge, but probably only yellow and probably not malicious."
Rayo's woes only increased in the 67th minute, when Manuel Iturra became the second player sent off. This time, there was no question about the foul. Iturra clearly caught Sergio Busquets with a tackle from behind, and the foul denied Busquets a clear goalscoring opportunity after Neymar's free kick had cannoned off the bar.
So what's the problem then? Replays showed that Busquets was clearly offside when Neymar took the free kick. Thus play should have stopped when he received the ball, since no Rayo defender touched it on the way through.
With Rayo down to nine men, the game was over as a spectacle.
Winner: Lionel Messi
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Lionel Messi scored three times, finding the back of the net in the 23rd, 53rd and 72nd minutes. By his standards, none of the three strikes were particularly memorable, but the hat trick brought his tally to 19 goals in La Liga this season.
That means the Argentine is now only six goals behind Luis Suarez in the race for the Pichichi Trophy. He's level with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema on 19 and only four behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
With Messi in good goalscoring form, the Pichichi race could become exciting this spring.
Loser: Luis Suarez
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Harsh to label him a loser? Maybe so, but this is more an indictment of Barcelona's penalty-taking this season than anything else.
After Barcelona won a penalty midway through the second half, Luis Suarez saw his kick saved easily by Rayo goalkeeper Juan Carlos. Suarez's strike was not up to par, with the Uruguayan failing to place his shot far enough to the side. It also flew in at the perfect height for Carlos to save.
So far this season, Barcelona have missed seven penalties. That's an amazing stat—and one that's difficult to explain, given Barca's brilliance elsewhere in the attacking third.
Winner: Neymar
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Neymar didn't score on Thursday, but he did register an assist on Messi's first strike. As Opta Joao noted shortly after the goal, Neymar has just become the first Brazilian to reach double figures in goals and assists for Barcelona in a single season since Ronaldinho did it in 2005-06.
With 18 goals and 10 assists, Neymar is having a wonderful campaign for the Catalans. How wonderful? The stats say he's in a class with Ronaldinho, which is no small compliment.
Loser: Juan Carlos
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Rayo goalkeeper Juan Carlos did stop Luis Suarez's penalty in the second half, but he also committed an error that led to Barcelona's opener.
In the 22nd minute, Carlos tracked a seemingly innocuous pass lofted into his box but somehow spilled the ball when it reached his arms. Ivan Rakitic was on hand and reacted quickly to sweep the ball into the net from close range.
Barcelona will beat you without any help. Errors only make it easier for them.
