Barcelona maintained their perfect start to the LaLiga season, overcoming an early scare to defeat Rayo Vallecano 5-2 and make it three wins from three matches. The result also extended their remarkable home league winning streak to 21 consecutive games, while Rayo remain on just one point.

Despite failing to score in their previous four visits to Barcelona, the visitors stunned the hosts by taking the lead inside 12 minutes. After weathering Barcelona’s early pressure, Alvaro Garcia broke down the left before delivering a low cut-back into the box.

His pass found Sergio Camello, who made no mistake, firing a powerful finish into the top corner to register his fourth goal in five league appearances.

Barcelona quickly responded and began turning up the pressure. Raphinha was denied by a sharp save from Daniel Cárdenas, but the Brazilian soon found the breakthrough.

After receiving a pass from Xavi Espart, Raphinha drove forward, skipped past the final defender and calmly rolled the ball beyond Cárdenas to bring Barcelona level.

The hosts continued to dominate after restoring parity. Their relentless pressure forced a turnover near the edge of the Rayo penalty area, with Marc Bernal quickly finding Lamine Yamal inside the box.

Yamal cut onto his left foot before unleashing a powerful effort that beat Cárdenas at the near post. The teenager had now opened his account for the 2026/27 campaign, putting Barcelona ahead and completing their rapid turnaround.

Neither Pedri nor Anthony Gordon could take advantage of the additional opportunities that came their way as Barcelona continued to control the match. However, a deflected effort from Gnangoro Bouare Samake forced Joan Garcia into action and served as a warning to Hansi Flick’s side that the game was still far from settled.

Barcelona appeared to have created some breathing room just before the interval, but Jules Kounde’s effort was ruled out for offside.

The hosts needed only six minutes after the restart to ease the pressure. Dani Olmo threaded a clever pass through the Rayo defence for Anthony Gordon, who sent the ball across the face of goal. Florian Lejeune, attempting to clear while tracking back, could only turn it into his own net.

Rayo refused to back down, however, and restored the pressure before the hour mark. Unai Lopez delivered a corner into the box, where Sergio Camello rose above the defenders to head home his second goal of the night and reduce the deficit to just one.

Barcelona were suddenly under serious pressure two minutes later. Joan Garcia struggled to deal with a Fran Perez volley, but Pau Cubarsi produced a crucial block to prevent the goalkeeper from being punished and deny Camello the chance to complete his hat-trick.

The goals continued to flow as the match entered its final 20 minutes, although Barcelona had first managed to regain control of the momentum.

Anthony Gordon collected a long ball near the corner of the penalty area before cutting inside and cleverly backheeling it into the path of Raphinha. The Brazilian made no mistake, drilling the ball past Cárdenas to score his fifth goal of the season.

Benat San José’s team refused to give up, with Randy Nteka coming close to creating a dramatic finale. However, Joan Garcia stood firm and produced an important save to keep out Nteka’s powerful effort.

Barcelona eventually had the final say. Lamine Yamal completed his brace by curling the team’s fifth goal into the bottom corner after being set up by Karim Adeyemi, putting the result beyond doubt.

The victory means Barcelona have now gone an entire 38-game league campaign without a draw, recording 32 wins and six defeats during that run. Meanwhile, Los Franjirrojos have managed just one victory in this fixture during the 21st century, along with two draws and 12 defeats.