‘This year they have plenty of it’… Rayo Vallecano full-back highlights one change at Barcelona this season | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have a golden chance to regain their position at the top of the La Liga table on Monday when they will be facing Rayo Vallecano at the Montjuic.

Both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid dropped points last night, which means the Blaugranes will get ahead of both these teams if they win their game in hand, equalling the points tally of the Merengues, but will be ahead of them because of their better head-to-head record and goal difference.

However, winning this game against the Madrid team will not really be easy, as Rayo has been one of the surprise teams in La Liga this season, and is currently standing 6th, ahead of sides like Osasuna, Real Sociedad, Girona, Real Betis, and Sevilla.

Thus, this is going to be quite an exciting game, but still, Barcelona will be the clear favorites. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Rayo Vallecano full-back Iván Balliu himself recognized the strengths of the Blaugrana team as he highlighted one weakness that the Catalan team has overcome:

“Barça has always played well. We’ve analyzed it, and they have always played good football. What they’ve lacked in recent years is physicality, but this year they have plenty of it.”

The defender went on to highlight one area where both these teams excel:

“They are the second team in La Liga that runs the most at high intensity—we are the first. Besides playing good football, they are physically dominant. Beating this Barça is very difficult.”

There is no doubt that Barcelona are one of the best teams in La Liga this season, and as Balliu noted, their physicality, in addition to their technicality, has allowed them to get the better of most of their opponents.

But Rayo Vallecano will not be a team to be walked over either, and thus, this match on Monday promises to be a highly entertaining affair.