La Liga news: Lewandowski debuts as Barcelona start season with tame 0-0 draw

Barcelona mortgaged its financial future to give Xavi Hernaacutendez the talent he wanted But Rayo Vallecano showed Xavi he still has work to do to forge a winning team after his newlook Barcelona was held to a 00 draw on Saturday in their Spanish league openerThe modest club from Madrid frustrated Robert Lewandowski and his fellow Barcelona newcomers by defending well and producing the most dangerous scoring threats As the minutes ticked by the energy drained from the 81000strong Camp Nou crowd that had turned out to cheer the team that was only made possible by the constroversial decision by club president Joan Laporta to sell off television rights and other assets in exchange for some much needed cashThe biggest applause Lewandowski heard from the crowd was to show their appreciation for his hustle on defense late in the match with Barcelona stymied in attack The closest the former Bayern Munich star went to scoring was a header flicked well over the bar in the first halfFittingly given its poor finish to the match Barcelona ended with 10 men after Sergio Busquets got a second booking in stoppage time when he swung his arm into the face of Rayo substitute Radamel FalcaoBusquets explusion will rule him out of Barcelonas visit to Real Sociedad Falcao then had what looked to be a winner waived away for offside as Rayo went close to claiming a third straight win over Barcelona after it stunned the Catalan club twice last seasonIt is too bad because we wanted to show our fans that we are on the right path Xavi saidWe had generated a lot of expectations but this is just the beginning Today is disappointing for every Barcelona supporter but we have to keep our faith in this way of playing as being the right one to win titlesLewandowski winger Raphinha and defender Andreas Christensen who also joined Barcelona this summer all made Xavis starting 11 The three players along with fellow newcomer Franck Kessieacute and the recently resigned Ousmane Dembeacuteleacute and Sergi Roberto were only declared eligible to play by the Spanish league on Friday after Barcelona sold yet another stake in its inhouse production company to improve its troubled financial balanceThe delicate state of Barcelonas finances meant that it was unable to register Jules Koundeacute its top defensive signing in time for the season openerXavi had said the demands placed on him and his team were higher this season because of the effort the club had made to give him a lot more talent after Barcelona won nothing last campaign following the exit of Lionel MessiAlso Read La Liga news Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti intends for more squad rotations this seasonBut Xavi still has a way to go to create a team as wellhoned as Andoni Iraolas Rayo which for a third meeting in a row held Barcelona without a goal Iraolas team led by midfielders midfielders Isi Palazoacuten and Oacutescar Trejo erased all the passing lanes for Lewandowski Barcelona was unable to find the answer through Raphinha and Dembeacuteleacute who both wasted the one good chance they each gotBarcelonas best chance came from late substitute PierreEmerick Aubameyang whose goalbound shot was saved by defender Alejandro Catena in the 85thPreviously Barcelona had needed goalie MarcAndre Ter Stegen to keep the game scorelessTer Stegen closed out quickly to block Aacutelvaro Garciacuteas pointblank shot after the forward had streaked away down the left flank and cut back past the sliding Ronald Arauacutejo just before halftimeBarcelona had another scare early in the second half when Sergio Camello pounced on a ball lost by Arauacutejo Again Ter Stegen came to the rescue forcing Camello into taking a shot from a narrow angle that trickled just past the far postMy team played tense and with nerves I had tried to tell them that the pressure was on me Xavi saidBut Rayo played well and closed off our passing game They executed their game planIraola a former Athletic Bilbao player who has impressed as a coach said his team played well enough to claim another victory at Camp NouI think we played a great match I am not satisfied because we wanted a win It is too bad we couldnt take the three points he saidMaybe they had more chances but we had three or four clear opportunities I am happy for the effort of my team and for having neutralized a great rivalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever