Rayo had the better of the first half, as Isi Palazón squandered two early chances, the second of which was fumbled by Iñaki Peña, who was making his first appearance this season in place of the injured Marc-André ter Stegen.
He would eventually be beaten though, as Unai López opened his account five minutes before HT with a thunderous long-range strike.
Robert Lewandowski had a couple of opportunities to respond before HT, but Barcelona lacked a cutting edge overall. This was also evident at the start of the second period, where the visitors should have done better with two free headers.
The first saw Ferran Torres head straight down Stole Dimitrievski’s throat, before Pedri flicked over Lewandowski’s cross.
Substitute Raphinha was next to come close to an equaliser, with his effort striking the post with 15 minutes to go, before Lewandowski’s rebound was scraped off the line by Dimitrievski.
The Pole was interminably threatening to get on the scoresheet though, and he broke Rayo hearts late on with a delicate header – his eighth LL goal this season.
The result extends Rayo’s remarkable unbeaten league run against Barcelona to five matches, while the visitors extend their own unbeaten away run in LL. Ultimately, both sides will see this as two points dropped.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Unai López (Rayo Vallecano)
