Barcelona are playing neat triangles in their own half and switching play with ease. They're inviting a frustrated and tired Rayo press and are beating it easily. There probably won't be enough time for another goal though.
89'
G. Imbula gets yellow.
Imbula kicks the ball away in frustration and picks up a yellow card.
88'
MISS! De Tomas shoots from around the halfway line and it sails over the bar. His manager is going berserk at him on the touchline.
85'
Malcom enters the game and replaces Sergio Busquets.
Busquets is replaced by Malcom as Barcelona look to turn the screw and make their superiority count.
82'
L. Suárez has scored a goal for Barcelona! Assist by I. Rakitić.
Rakitic, having just entered the fray, gets involved immediately and plays some neat interchanges to set Suarez up for a simple finish.
GOAL!! Suarez makes it 3-1 to Barcelona and extends his excellent record against these opponents. Dembele fizzes the ball in and the Uruguayan plays a neat one-two with Rakitic inside the box before slotting into an empty net. He's now scored six in five games against Vallecano.
80'
Adri Embarba enters the game and replaces Álvaro García.
I. Rakitić enters the game and replaces Philippe Coutinho.
Garcia makes way for Embarba in Rayo's second change of the night.
Coutinho is replaced by Rakitic after a quiet showing.
79'
Sergio Busquets gets yellow.
Busquets can't catch up to Imbula and hacks him down from behind, earning himself a yellow card.
77'
Dembele gets away down the right and looks to square for Suarez, but an excellent interception denies the striker.
75'
BLOCK! De Tomas gets the ball on the right following a corner but sees his shot blocked away from a difficult angle.
Minute
Description
71'
Suarez is sent racing clear on the counter, but the ball takes him a little wide to the left and he has no support. He eventually has to settle for a throw-in.
68'
E. Velázquez gets yellow.
Velazquez flies into a tackle on Suarez and deservedly goes into the book. The free-kick is in a threatening position on the edge of the box.
64'
José Pozo enters the game and replaces J. Amat.
Former Swansea defender Amat is replaced by Pozo as the visitors try to get back into the game.
61'
Coutinho has a speculative effort from distance that cannons back off a defender. It's all very comfortable now for Barca.
59'
Former Manchester United flop Bebe concedes a foul on Umtiti out wide. He's barely had a kick tonight.
57'
Some sloppy play by Coutinho nearly gifts Vallecano a break in the centre-circle, but it's won back and Semedo drives forward with pace down the right, but his cross is cleared. The right-back has had an excellent game.
55'
The game has lost a little bit of tempo as Rayo struggle to get out of their half, with Barcelona slowly suffocating them with possession.
53'
Barcelona look comfortable now. They're passing the ball around with ease and have pinned Vallecano back into their own third.
51'
Penalty goal scored by L. Messi for Barcelona!
GOAL! BARCELONA LEAD 2-1! Messi calmly sends the keeper the wrong way and slots the ball into the bottom-right corner from the spot. The hosts are in the driving seat now, but they've been made to work for it.
47'
Suarez appears to have picked up a knock right at the start of the half and is hobbling. No sign of him being replaced yet, though.
46'
O. Dembélé enters the game and replaces Arthur.
Arthur comes off at half time for Dembele. No obvious sign of an injury, so perhaps Valverde is looking to change things tactically. Coutinho moves into central midfield.
We're off for the second half!
45' +1
HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 1-1 RAYO VALLECANO
45'
Messi is caught offside as Arthur tries to play the ball through to him. That should be the last action of the half.
43'
Messi dances through a sea of white shirts and into the box, but it's nicked away from him at the vital moment and he's bundled off the ball.
42'
MISS! Suarez tries a speculative volley uner pressure and gets it wrong, sending it tamely out of play.
38'
Piqué has scored a goal for Barcelona! Assist by L. Messi.
Messi floated the ball into a great area for Pique, but questions have to be asked of Vallecano's marking.
GOAL! BARCELONA ARE LEVEL! Messi swings in a free-kick from the right and Pique meets it, unmarked, at the near post to head home and restore parity! It's all square at 1-1.
36'
MISS! Messi blazes the ball over the bar from outside the box. Frustration is creeping into the hosts' play after going behind.
34'
Barcelona have not looked their fluid selves in the final third so far. A few long balls have gone straight out of play and they are giving needless fouls away.
26'
Barcelona try to squeeze up and put pressure on their opponents, but the break still looks an avenue that can be exploited.
24'
Raúl de Tomás has scored a goal for Rayo Vallecano! Assist by Álvaro García.
Garcia set the counter on its way with a neat early ball, but there was plenty left for the striker to do before he found the net.
GOAL!! RAYO VALLECANO LEAD AT CAMP NOU! De Tomas is fed down the flank by Garcia and he takes a couple on before curling a shot right into the bottom-right corner from outside the box and past the despairing dive of Ter Stegen! It's 1-0 to the visitors!
16'
Barcelona have started probing again, but the visitors are doing their best to disrupt the flow of the game.
12'
Messi dinks the ball in behind for Umtiti, but it's just over his head and the flag is up for offside anyway.
11'
The subsequent free-kick is turned behind for a corner, which eventually comes to nothing.
10'
Dimitrievski comes to the edge of his box and catches a high ball after a blocked shot. His feet remain inside the box but he catches the ball just outside it! A free-kick is given, but no card.
8'
Vallecano have tried to cause Barcelona problems so far in this one and have certainly disrupted the league leaders' rhythm.
6'
The ball is then whipped in from the right and Pique makes a panicked clearance despite Ter Stegen coming to gather Amat's stray header. A little nervy from the hosts.
5'
Rayo Vallecano build a promising attack on the edge of the Barcelona box and slip it through for De Tomas, who goes down just inside the box, but the referee waves play on.
3'
Barcelona have, predictably, dominated the ball in the opening minutes, although Busquets plays a stray ball out of play to hand the visitors possession.
1'
Barcelona get the game underway!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the LaLiga fixture between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou.
The line-ups are out and we'll start with the home side.
Barcelona substitutes: Jasper Cillessen, Jeison Murillo, Ivan Rakitic, Malcom, Carles Alena, Sergi Roberto, Ousmane Dembele
Rayo Vallecano substitutes: Mario Suarez, Adrian Embarba, Jose Pozo, Oscar Trejo, Alberto Garcia, Franco Di Santo, Tito
Rayo Vallecano are second-bottom on goal difference and have lost last five LaLiga games in a row.
Barcelona XI (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Arturo Vidal, Arthur; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho
Rayo Vallecano XI (5-4-1): Stole Dimitrievski; Luis Advincula, Emiliano Velazquez, Alejandro Galvez, Jordi Amat, Alex Moreno; Alvaro Garcia, Giannelli Imbula, Santiago Comesana, Bebe; Raul de Tomas
Barcelona will look to restore their seven-point advantage over Atletico Madrid at the top of the table and maintain their unbeaten run, which currently stands at 10 in all competitions.
Barcelona haven't looked at all fluent and while some of the players coming into the side - Semedo in particular - have impressed, Coutinho has been very quiet and looks to be playing within himself. There's clearly a confidence issue going on there with a very gifted player. He will hope to have more of an impact on the second half.
Barcelona host Lyon next in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie, while Rayo Vallecano face fellow relegation rivals Villarreal away from home in LaLiga.
Thanks for joining our coverage, we hope you enjoyed the game. Until next time, goodbye!
Commentary
More…