Barcelona held to a frustrating goalless draw by Rayo Vallecano at the Spotify Nou Camp

Rayo Vallecano visited the Spotify Nou Camp on the opening day of the 2022-23 LaLiga season and held Barcelona to a goalless draw.

Barcelona kicked off their 2022-23 LaLiga campaign on Saturday, August 13, at home against Rayo Vallecano in the Spotify Nou Camp. On a day when the fans expected to see an instant dividend for the huge amount of money splashed out on new players, the Blaugrana were very lacklustre and played out a goalless draw.

Supporters inside the Nou Camp were entitled to feel things could change for the better after the shambles of last season. Four of the club’s new signings were successfully registered just 24 hours prior to kickoff.

Raphina, Christensen, and Lewandowski were in the starting eleven, with Kessie on the bench. Dutch midfielder Frenkie DeJong – subject of an imminent move to Chelsea – started as well.

Robert Lewandowski, a huge signing from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich was unable to convert the opportunities that came his way. He managed to put the ball in the net once in the first half only to be ruled offside. Incredibly, this was the first time in eight seasons that the Polish striker had failed to score on the opening day of a season.

4 debuts en partit oficial 💙❤️

Segur que arribaran les victòries 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/K6z2M7jvsa

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) August 13, 2022

The visitors only mustered four attempts on goal, compared to Barca’s 21. Vallecano’s defensive line proved impossible to break down, and they almost caused a major upset when Sergio Camello missed a golden chance to take the three points near the end of the game.

Min.60 Entran @FALCAO y @OscarValentin94 por @9Camello y @unai10lopez (0-0)#BarçaRayo #VamosRayo pic.twitter.com/lAyXuJs0lg

— Rayo Vallecano (@RayoVallecano) August 13, 2022

To compound the misery for Barcelona, their midfield general Sergio Busquets saw red in the 93rd minute when he picked up a second yellow card.

🟨🟨 Sergio, expulsat per doble targeta groga pic.twitter.com/2HUlEUGh7V

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) August 13, 2022

There were two other matches on the opening day of Spain’s 2022-23 LaLiga season. Villarreal thumped Real Valladolid 3-0 away, while Celta Vigo and Espanyol played out a 2-2 draw.

🎙️ RUEDA DE PRENSA@pacheta_oficial: “No hemos estado fluidos con balón, tenemos que ser valientes, más verticales y creer en lo que sabemos hacer. Aprender, lamer las heridas y a seguir”.https://t.co/FtvtOVQwQv #RealValladolidVillarreal

— Real Valladolid C.F. (@realvalladolid) August 13, 2022

🎙 @UnaiEmery_ 🎙

"We were patient, we didn't concede and we were able to take advantage of counter-attacks to win the game."#RealValladolidVillarreal

— Villarreal CF English (@VillarrealCFen) August 13, 2022

Punto importante fuera de casa. Muy contento por mi primer gol en Liga como jugador del @RCDEspanyol . Con muchas ganas de más! ⚽️💥 pic.twitter.com/QkvdXYOaO4

— Joselu Mato (@JoseluMato9) August 13, 2022

🤩 Debut en @LaLiga como celestes de @gpaciencia9 , @amarchesin1, @unainunez30 y Óscar Rodríguez.#CeltaEspanyol #RCCelta pic.twitter.com/beobirxmPk

— RC Celta (@RCCelta) August 13, 2022

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