RAYO-BARÇA
Trashorras: "Barça have to lose at some point, why not tomorrow?"
The Rayo Vallecano captain, a former Barça player himself, was full of praise for the job Luis Enrique has done at the Catalan club.
Roberto Trashorras, Rayo's veteran captain and play-maker spoke to the media ahead of tomorrow's game at Vallecas where Barcelona will look to consolidate their lead at the top of LaLiga and create a new record of 35 consecutive games unbeaten.
The 35 year old observed that his side face a huge task as they take on: "the best team in the world with the best players. It will be far from easy but our intention is to go out and compete and do our best to win. Barça are playing so well at the moment but at some point that run has to come to an end. I hope that it will be at Vallecas tomorrow".
The omens are not good for the side from Vallecas. Since their return to the top flight, Rayo have played Barça four times at home in the Estadio del Vallecas with overall balance of P4 W0 L4. Rayo failed to score against the Catalan side shipping 18 goals in these four particular head-to heads. Rayo however can claim to be the first team to beat Barça in the possession stakes when in 2013 they became the first side to retain the ball more during a game than Barça for the first time in 136 games despite losing 0-4
The last time the side from the Madrid suburb managed to overcome the Catalan giants was back on December 2002 when a solitary goal from Azkoita in the 64th minute saw off the visitors then coached by Louis Van Gaal.
Trashorras concluded his press conference praising the job that Luis Enrique has done at the club: "The results speak for themselves. He is doing a tremendous job. After his low-point when the side lost in Anoeta early 2015, he was patient and time has proven him right. He's made his Barcelona side as hard to beat as that of Guardiola and Tito. He also added his own variants with control and added counter-attack to the team's make-up"
Tomorrow's game at the 14.700 capacity ground is a sell-out despite the inflated ticket prices (40-90 euro) a significant amount of claret and navy clad supporters will populate the stands at the compact Vallecas ground which offers a unique opportunity to see Messi, Neymar and company at close quarters.
