Yamal scores penalty but Barcelona needs GK García to leave Rayo with a point

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lamine Yamal scored from the penalty spot but Barcelona needed goalkeeper Joan García to ensure it left Rayo Vallecano with a point after a 1-1 draw in the Spanish league on Sunday.

The defending champions were largely outplayed by the modest side from Madrid with its speed and ability to break Barcelona’s offside trap.

It was Barcelona’s first slip of the season after it started with a pair of wins at Mallorca and Levante.

Yamal got the penalty after he dribbled past a defender and was knocked down by Pep Chavarría in a foul that was fiercely protested by Rayo’s players and staff.

Yamal stepped up and fired in the 40th-minute spot kick, before celebrating by gesturing as if he were placing a crown on his head. It was the 18-year-old’s second goal of the campaign and his first penalty for Barcelona. He converted a penalty for Spain earlier this year.

“They had fouled me, I felt confident and I always am ready to put the team on my back,” Yamal said.

Rayo’s pressure and the quickness of Jorge de Frutos, Álvaro García and Isi Palazón repeatedly created space behind Barcelona’s high defensive line.

García made five key saves, including denying De Frutos and Andrei Ratiu one-on-one. But the former Espanyol goalie could do nothing to stop substitute Fran Pérez from blasting in a volley off a corner kick when left completely unmarked at the far post in the 67th.

“We have to control the ball better. We have to be happy with the point,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “Joan García played a fantastic match today.”

Fermín López played as a second-half substitute amid speculation that Chelsea wants to sign the Barcelona midfielder before the summer transfer window closes on Monday.

No video review

The game was marked by an apparent malfunction to the video review service for referees.

The referee informed team captains midway through the first half that it was not working. That meant there was no review of Chavarría's foul of Yamal.

Rayo coach Íñigo Pérez got a yellow card for his vehement protest, which included him knocking over a stand that held a tablet of his coaching staff in the dugout.

After the game, he apologized for what he called his “embarrassing behavior."

“I am a firm defender of the referee’s right to make mistakes,” Pérez said. “The referee is a key figure in this sport who gets little support, and he can commit errors.”

He added: “What made me lose my cool was that you can’t start playing with video review and then be told that now you are playing without it. The video review affects how you play, how the referees work.”

Other results

Borja Iglesias scored with a header in second-half injury time to snatch Celta Vigo a 1-1 draw with Villarreal, dealing the “Yellow Submarine” its first setback of the season after two victories.

Athletic Bilbao made it three wins in as many rounds after beating Real Betis 2-1 in Seville.

The Basque Country club got an own-goal by Marc Bartra before Aitor Paredes got the second. Cedric Bakambú pulled one very late goal back for the hosts.

Espanyol remained unbeaten after defender Carlos Romero scored in a 1-0 win against Osasuna.

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