Barcelona secured a fifth consecutive LaLiga victory with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, ensuring they remain at least four points clear of title rivals Real Madrid regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s Madrid derby.

Rayo made a bright start, testing Barça’s high defensive line within the opening minute as Carlos Martín forced Joan García into an early save. The hosts took time to settle, with their first shot on target arriving 10 minutes later through a harmless effort from Gerard Martín that was comfortably handled by Augusto Batalla.

Raphinha came close to breaking the deadlock after intercepting a pass near the halfway line and bursting forward ahead of Pathé Ciss, but he failed to hit the target. Meanwhile, Rayo stayed compact in midfield and looked to exploit space on the counter whenever possible.

Barcelona eventually found the breakthrough in the 24th minute. A well-delivered corner from João Cancelo picked out Ronald Araújo at the far post, and the defender powered a downward header into the net to put the hosts ahead.

The lead almost doubled soon after, but Batalla produced an excellent save to tip Raphinha’s powerful strike onto the crossbar. The remainder of the half became scrappy, with frequent fouls and set-pieces disrupting the rhythm of the game. Although Barcelona maintained control heading into the break, they struggled to create clear chances beyond Araújo’s goal.

Rayo threatened again just three minutes into the second half, once more beating the offside trap, but Fran Pérez’s delivery was comfortably gathered by Joan García.

As the hour mark neared, Barcelona increased the tempo, though several half-chances went unfinished. Rayo came close to equalising when Álvaro García unleashed a powerful left-footed effort that was well saved by García, who then produced another outstanding stop to claw away Unai López’s header while airborne.

Barcelona’s lack of fluency began to frustrate the Camp Nou crowd, drawing whistles from the stands, and tension grew when Rayo broke through the lines again with four players surging forward. However, Pacha Espino failed to capitalise, sending his effort over the bar.

Despite offering little attacking threat in the closing stages, Barcelona managed to see out the game, securing their 15th consecutive LaLiga victory at Camp Nou. For Rayo, the defeat extends their poor away form, now without a win in nine matches (three draws and six losses).