Sanchez bags brace as Barca brush aside Rayo
Reuters - Tuesday 29 November 2011, 22:00
Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez
helped the Spanish champions get over their weekend defeat at
Getafe by scoring twice in a 4-0 home victory over promoted Rayo
Vallecano in La Liga on Tuesday.
Barca suffered their first loss of the campaign when they
went down 1-0 on Saturday to slip six points behind leaders Real
Madrid but after a shaky opening at the Nou Camp they crushed
their valiant visitors.
Chile forward Alexis broke the deadlock in the 29th minute,
and added a second in the 41st before forward David Villa made
it 3-0 before the break.
Lionel Messi raced in off the right flank to notch his 16th
league goal of the season after the restart.
The match was brought forward due to Barca's participation
in the Club World Cup in Japan next month and saw them climb to
31 points from 14 games, three behind Real who a game in hand.
"Alexis isn't only a forward, he also does a job which helps
the team a lot," Barca coach Pep Guardiola told reporters.
"He picked up an injury (a hamstring tear which kept him out
for two months), but before this he had been immense. You can
see he just lacks the things that only time and regular play can
bring. I have to congratulate him for his game."
Rayo surprised Barca with an adventurous game plan,
pressuring the hosts deep in their own half, and successfully
unsettled Guardiola's side but failed to take their chances.
Alexis, who Barca signed in July for a fee that could rise
to 38 million euros, lifted his side with a superb individual
goal, curling a shot in off the far post to settle home nerves.
He then pounced on a loose ball to double the advantage
before Gerard Pique surged out of defence to set in motion the
move which ended with Villa slotting in the third.
Alexis, Villa and Pique have all been under the spotlight in
recent weeks as Barca have failed to really shine and will need
to be at their best on December 10 when they visit Real Madrid for
the first league 'clasico' of the season at the Bernabeu.
World Player of the Year Messi wrapped up the scoring in the
49th minute as Barca enjoyed a La Liga record 11th consecutive
game without conceding a goal at home - a run stretching back
to April when Almeria scored in their 3-1 defeat.