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FC BARCELONA'S SEASON WILL BEGIN AGAINST RAYO VALLECANO.


Last season, the Catalan giants finished second in the table, 13 points behind champions Real Madrid, while Rayo impressed on their return to Spain's top flight from the Segunda Division, finishing 13th.  

Barcelona failed to win a trophy in the 2021–22 season, but the club will be expected to challenge for major silverware this season, especially given their summer business, with a number of statement signings arriving despite the club's ongoing financial problems. Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, and Jules Kounde have all arrived to bolster the squad, while it is believed that Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Manchester City's Bernardo Silva are still on the club's radar, making it an even more unusual window for the club.

However, there has been a lot of nervousness, concern, and pessimism among fans in the last week or so as Barcelona struggled to register their new signings due to their bloated wage bill. However, late Friday night, the Catalans registered six players after activating their fourth economic lever, with Jules Kounde the only one missing out for the time being. Barcelona will now face Rayo Vallecano in their first La Liga match of the 2022/23 season at Camp Nou on Saturday night with a nearly full squad. Xavi Hernandez faces a huge task in dethroning arch-rivals Real Madrid in Spain, and he will be looking for a winning start.  

The Catalan club has now gone three seasons without a league title, finishing second, third, and second since winning the title in 2018–19, and they were 13 points behind champions Real Madrid last season; they were also eliminated in the group stage of the 2021–22 Champions League, forcing them to compete in the Europa League for the first time since 2003. Barcelona's first half of the 2021-22 season was turbulent, with the club struggling to deal with Lionel Messi's departure, but there has been plenty of progress since Xavi's arrival as head coach, and it is fair to say that supporters are feeling confident ahead of the new season. The Catalans have scored a lot of goals.

 

Rayo will be tasked with ensuring that Barcelona has a bad start, and the fact that they had such a successful 2021-22 season should mean that confidence is high in the camp. Los Franjirrojos won the 2020–21 Segunda Division playoffs to reclaim their place in the top flight for the following season, finishing 12th with a record of 11 wins, nine draws, and 18 defeats for 42 points, four more than 18th-place Granada.

Rayo also had a strong pre-season, losing only one of their six matches, including a goalless draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United on July 31 and a 0-0 draw with Real Valladolid in their last friendly on August 5. Andoni Iraola's side added five new players this summer, with Unai Lopez, Salvi Sanchez, and Diego Lopez joining on free transfers, while Sergio Camello and Florian Lejeune joined on loan from Atletico Madrid and Alaves, respectively. Rayo will undoubtedly be the underdogs this weekend, but they did a league double over Barcelona last season, winning 1-0 at home in October 2021 before winning 1-0 at Camp Nou in April.

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