Olmo earns Barca comeback victory

MADRID, August 28

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 counterattack 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.

Olmo said he was delighted with his dream debut. The 26-year-old said his return to the club where he spent seven years in the youth academy before joining Dinamo Zagreb aged 16 was better than expected. “I’ve been looking forward to my debut since for a long time and it couldn’t have been in a better way,” Olmo said.