Barcelona suffered a 0-1 defeat at home to Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Monday (25), the first time in the club's history that they have suffered three consecutive home defeats in the same season! With Barcelona's loss, Real Madrid's lead at the top of the table has increased to 15 points, and only need to win one more point in the last five rounds of the league to lock up the La Liga title at home against Espinoza on Saturday (30th).
Barcelona recently lost to Eintracht Frankfurt and Cádiz in consecutive home matches, and this time, the team was still unable to pull themselves together against the seemingly weak Juarez Januar, and the goal was broken by the visiting team after only 7 minutes of the opening match with a brilliant combination. Although Barcelona fought back after conceding the goal, with Gavi hitting the post, they failed to convert their 18 shots into goals, and eventually suffered a 0-1 defeat. It is worth mentioning that Barcelona had suffered three consecutive home defeats across the season in 1998, but three consecutive defeats in Luying Stadium this season is the first time in the club's history.
After the match, Barcelona manager Xavi harshly criticized his players' performance, "We didn't show the fight and intensity we should have, the first half was unacceptable and I am very angry and disappointed." Currently, Barcelona are six points adrift of fifth-placed Betis, with the top four's qualification for the UEFA Europa League still unsettled.
