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A late goal by new signing Dani Olmo gave Barcelona a nervy 2-1 comeback victory at Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday, as the LaLiga leaders continued their perfect start to the season with a third consecutive win.
After missing Barca's first two games as he was unregistered due the club's struggles to comply with LaLiga's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, Olmo came off the bench in the second half to give Barca the spark they needed on his debut after signing from RB Leipzig.
He struck the winner in the 82nd minute after Pedri's goal on a counter-attack in the 60th minute had cancelled out Unai Lopez's early opener for Rayo.
The win put Barcelona top the standings on nine points from three games, two ahead second-placed Villarreal. Rayo are eighth on four points.
Vallecas has not been a happy hunting ground for Barcelona in recent years and the Catalan giants have failed to win a league game at the raucous stadium on the outskirts of Madrid since November 2018.
Rayo dominated proceedings in the first half and took the lead from a quick counter started by Jorge de Frutos who set up Lopez to score in the ninth minute.
Alvaro Garcia and Isi Palazon had great chances as Rayo started the game aggressively, pressuring Barca high and bursting forward on counter attacks.
But Barca were livelier after the break, with manager Hansi Flick bringing the versatile Olmo off the bench.
Olmo's electric performances were central to Spain's Euro 2024 triumph and he finished as the tournament's joint top scorer with three goals and was one of six Spain players in UEFA's team of the tournament.
He fired a thunderous strike from long range in the 57th minute that cannoned off the crossbar and was a constant menace for Rayo's defence.
Barca levelled in the 60th minute thanks to a quick counter attack started by Pedri, who passed to Raphinha in the left channel and burst forward to receive the ball back from his team mate before guiding his finish into the bottom right corner.
Barca thought they had scored a second through Robert Lewandowski in the 71st minute, but referee Cesar Soto Grado ruled out his effort due to a foul in the build up that he spotted in a VAR review.
However, Olmo gave Barca a deserved win after a fine combination with Lamine Yamal, who drove to the byline before cutting the ball back for an unmarked Olmo inside the box, who netted a curling strike just inside the far post.
Young Boys oust Galatasaray, Salzburg qualify for Champions League
Switzerland's Young Boys beat Galatasaray 1-0 in the second leg of their Champions League playoff on Tuesday to qualify for the league phase of the refreshed competition following a 4-2 aggregate win.
Czech champions Sparta Prague beat Sweden's Malmo 2-0 for a 4-0 aggregate win as they also reached the Champions League's new league phase while RB Salzburg drew 1-1 at home with Dynamo Kyiv to advance after their 2-0 first-leg win.
Young Boys forward Alan Virginius scored in the 87th minute after the Swiss champions defeated Galatasaray 3-2 in their home leg last week thanks to Joel Monteiro's first-half brace and a late penalty converted by Filip Ugrinic.
Young Boys went close to increasing their advantage in the first half of the second leg when Silvere Ganvoula hit the post and forward Ebrima Colley was flagged for offside when he headed home in the 31st minute.
Galatasaray, UEFA Cup winners in 2000, missed out on the Champions League for the second time in three years.
Regulars in the Champions League group stage, they have not reached the knockout rounds since 2013-14, when they made it to the last 16.
Sparta Prague doubled their 2-0 first-leg advantage over Malmo to qualify for Europe's elite club competition for the first time since 2005.
Lukas Haraslin opened the scoring for the Czech league leaders in the 80th minute from the spot before setting up Albion Rrahmani for the second, three minutes later.
The Slovakia midfielder thought he had made it 1-0 in the 68th minute but his goal was disallowed for offside.
Both Sparta and Malmo missed penalties in the first half through midfielders Veljko Birmancevic and Anders Christiansen, respectively.
Salzburg made a rapid start to their return clash against Dynamo as winger Adam Daghim put the hosts in front in the 12th minute.
The Ukrainians equalised just before the half-hour mark through Vladyslav Vanat's low shot inside the far post.
The Austrian Bundesliga runners-up have made the Champions League's group stage every year since the 2019-20 season.
France's Lille are among the sides in action on Wednesday and hold a 2-0 first-leg advantage over Slavia Prague.
The 2024-25 Champions League league phase draw will be held on Thursday with match day one games taking place between Sept. 17-19.
Under the new format, teams will play eight games in the 36-team league phase, which replaces the former group stage. After facing eight different teams, half at home and half away, the top eight sides will qualify automatically for the last 16, with the sides ranked ninth to 24th going into a playoff.
