Barcelona crashed to another shock defeat on Sunday night as they were edged out by Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou.
It ensured the club suffered a third successive home defeat in the same season for the first time in their history, meaning boss Xavi Hernandez set an unwanted record. Earlier this month, the club's European hopes were ended for the campaign as they crashed to defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt before slipping to a surprise home defeat against lowly Cadiz last week in La Liga. The other occasion the club have lost three successive home games came at the end of the 1997-98 season and start of the 1998-99 season under Dutch boss Louis van Gaal.
While they did record an encouraging victory at Real Sociedad last week – although the Blaugrana were second best for long periods in that game, which ended in a one-goal victory – it continues a concerning trend for the club, who will finish this season trophyless.
