Barca stunned by Rayo, Atletico triumph on anniversary

MADRID: Barcelona was­ted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday thanks to goals in each half from Alvaro Garcia and Fran Garcia.

With seven games to play, Barca are top of the league on 76 points, 11 ahead second-placed Real Madrid, who were also stunned 4-2 at lowly Girona on Tuesday.

Atletico Madrid cut the gap on rivals Real to two points with a 3-1 win over Real Mallorca, celebrating their 120th anniversary in style.

Ninth-placed Rayo halted Barca’s seven game unbeaten streak in the league with a gutsy performance in front of their fans at a sold-out Estadio de Vallecas.

They were the better side for most of the match against a slapdash Barca and opened the scoring in the 19th minute after Sergio Camello challenged Gavi and quickly fed Alvaro Garcia who riffled an unstoppable low shot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Rayo extended their lead in the 52nd minute thanks to a great effort from Fran Garcia, who stole the ball from Frenkie de Jong in midfield and ran through the heart of the Barca defence to score with a tidy finish past Ter Stegen.

However, Barca cut the deficit through Robert Lewan­dowski, who latched on to a loose ball inside the box and drilled it into the net in the 83rd minute. It proved a consolation, however, as Rayo held on to secure the win.

“Rayo played a great game. They deserved the win and we were not up to the task tonight,” defender Ronald Araujo told DAZN. “Good thing we have a good advantage in the standings and we play the next two games at home.”

Celebrating their anniversary in front of a nearly sold-out Metropolitano stadium and wearing a blue and white kit inspired by the one they used in their first match in 1903, Atletico fell behind in the 19th minute after Mallorca defender Matija Nastasic scored with a header from a corner.

But Atletico took control of the match, netting twice within two minutes at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second.

Rodrigo de Paul scored in added time before the break with a close-range strike and right after halftime Alvaro Morata netted with a towering header from a perfect Nahuel Molina cross.

Yannick Carrasco wrapped up the points from a counter-attack in the 76th minute, collecting a brilliant long pass from Antoine Griezmann and dribbling around the goalkeeper before tapping into the empty goal.

“It’s a day of celebration and we have put the icing on the cake with this win,” Atletico captain Koke told DAZN. “We started losing, but the team’s attitude was spectacular to turn the game around. We are two points behind Real Madrid and we have to be ambitious.”

Almeria climbed up to 15th with a 2-1 win at 10-man Getafe, which left the hosts 17th, one point above the bottom three, which they could sink into depending on other results in the round.

Celta Vigo earned a late win over bottom-of-the-table Elche thanks to defender Joseph Aidoo’s diving header.