Yamal scores from penalty spot but Barcelona needs goalkeeper Joan García to leave Rayo with a point

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lamine Yamal scored from the penalty spot but Barcelona needed goalkeeper Joan García to ensure it left Rayo Vallecano with a point after a 1-1 draw in the Spanish league on Sunday.

The defending champions were largely outplayed by the modest side from Madrid with its speed and ability to break Barcelona’s offside trap.

It was Barcelona’s first slip of the season after it started with a pair of wins at Mallorca and Levante.

Yamal got the penalty after he dribbled past a defender and was knocked down by Pep Chavarría in a foul that was fiercely protested by Rayo’s players and staff.

Yamal stepped up and fired in the 40th-minute spot kick, before celebrating by gesturing as if he were placing a crown on his head. It was the 18-year-old’s second goal of the campaign and his first penalty for Barcelona. He converted a penalty for Spain earlier this year.

“They had fouled me, I felt confident and I always am ready to put the team on my back,” Yamal said.

Rayo’s pressure and the quickness of Jorge de Frutos, Álvaro García and Isi Palazón repeatedly created space behind Barcelona’s high defensive line.

García made five key saves, including denying De Frutos and Andrei Ratiu one-on-one. But the former Espanyol goalie could do nothing to stop substitute Fran Pérez from blasting in a volley off a corner kick when left completely unmarked at the far post in the 67th.

“We have to control the ball better. We have to be happy with the point,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “Joan García played a fantastic match today.”

Fermín López played as a second-half substitute amid speculation that Chelsea wants to sign the Barcelona midfielder before the summer transfer window closes on Monday.

The game was marked by an apparent malfunction to the video review service for referees.

The referee informed team captains midway through the first half that it was not working. That meant there was no review of Chavarría's foul of Yamal.

Rayo coach Íñigo Pérez got a yellow card for his vehement protest, which included him knocking over a stand that held a tablet of his coaching staff in the dugout.

After the game, he apologized for what he called his “embarrassing behavior."

“I am a firm defender of the referee’s right to make mistakes,” Pérez said. “The referee is a key figure in this sport who gets little support, and he can commit errors.”

He added: “What made me lose my cool was that you can’t start playing with video review and then be told that now you are playing without it. The video review affects how you play, how the referees work.”

Borja Iglesias scored with a header in second-half injury time to snatch Celta Vigo a 1-1 draw with Villarreal, dealing the “Yellow Submarine” its first setback of the season after two victories.

Athletic Bilbao made it three wins in as many rounds after beating Real Betis 2-1 in Seville.

The Basque Country club got an own-goal by Marc Bartra before Aitor Paredes got the second. Cedric Bakambú pulled one very late goal back for the hosts.

Espanyol remained unbeaten after defender Carlos Romero scored in a 1-0 win against Osasuna.

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Barcelona's goalkeeper Joan García makes a save from Rayo's Andrei Ratiu during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Rayo Vallecano and FC Barcelona at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Rayo Vallecano and FC Barcelona at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal scores the opening goal from the penalty spot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Rayo Vallecano and FC Barcelona at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's goalkeeper Joan García makes a save from Rayo's Andrei Ratiu during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Rayo Vallecano and FC Barcelona at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Rayo Vallecano and FC Barcelona at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

MADRID (AP) — Barcelona's 11-game winning streak ended Sunday with a 2-1 loss at Real Sociedad in the Spanish league.

Barcelona had three goals disallowed — as well as a penalty-kick call reversed by video review — in the first half alone. It had five attempts hit the woodwork, including an 84th-minute header by Jules Koundé from close range.

The loss left the Catalan club one point ahead of second-place Real Madrid, which beat Levante 2-0 at home on Saturday.

Mikel Oyarzabal put the hosts ahead with a volley by the far post in the 32nd minute. Barcelona equalized with a header from Marcus Rashford in the 70th but a minute later Gonçalo Guedes put Sociedad ahead again with a shot from inside the area.

Barcelona had plenty of chances throughout the match. It thought it had taken the lead a few minutes into the game when Fermín López scored with a low shot from outside the area, but the goal was disallowed by video review for a foul by Dani Olmo on Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo in the buildup.

Barcelona also had a goal by Frenkie de Jong called back for offside in the 21st and another by Lamine Yamal in the 27th.

Yamal was awarded a penalty in first-half stoppage time but the call was reversed because he was offside.

Sociedad's Carlos Soler was sent off in the 88th.

Barcelona had won 11 in a row across all competitions in a streak that included a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia last weekend. It hadn't lost since a 3-0 road defeat against Chelsea in the league phase of the Champions League.

Its last Spanish league loss had been a 2-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the first clasico of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in October.

It was the second consecutive win for Sociedad, which moved to eighth place.

Barcelona forward Raphinha was not included in the squad for Sunday's match. João Cancelo made his debut off the bench in the second half after recently signing with the Catalan club.

Kubo had to be taken off the field on a stretcher in the second half because of an injury.

Alexander Sorloth scored early in the second half to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 home win over relegation-threatened Alaves.

Sorloth struck in the 48th minute with a firm header from near the penalty spot after Pablo Barrios crossed from the right flank. The ball hit the post at the far corner before going in.

It was the 10th start in 19 league games for Sorloth this season. The Norway forward has six goals, three with headers.

Alaves, winless in five straight league games, came close to equalizing a few times late in the match at the Metropolitano stadium in the Spanish capital.

Alaves has seven losses in its last nine league games, with its only win, 1-0, against Real Sociedad in December.

Earlier Sunday, Valencia moved out of the relegation zone by winning 1-0 at Getafe with an 84th-minute goal by José Gayà.

The result ended Valencia's six-game winless streak in the league. Getafe is now winless in six consecutive league games, with five losses.

Celta Vigo routed 10-man Rayo Vallecano 3-0 at home. The visitors played with 10 men from the 66th after Nobel Mendy was sent off for a hard foul after VAR review.

It was the third win in a row for Celta, which is seventh. Rayo is 13th.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo is transported off the pitch during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Eric Garcia, centre, kicks the ball ahead of Real Sociedad's Mikel Oyarzabal, left, and Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, left, in action during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Real Sociedad's Goncalo Guedes, right, celebrates with Real Sociedad's Alvaro Odriozola after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)