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An injury to their young midfielder tainted Barcelona's third consecutive league victory.
Barcelona's victory against Rayo Vallecano to send them to the top of LALIGA was tainted by an injury to young midfielder Marc Benal.
The 17-year-old shone in pre-season and has immediately been trusted with the crucial pivot role in the Barcelona team. He has started all three league games for the club so far, but his season could have ended tonight after suffering a knee injury.
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Barcelona's tainted victory
Unai Lopez gave Rayo Vallecano an early lead in the 9th minute of the encounter. An inspired second-half performance helped the Blaugrana turn the game around.
Pedri scored the equaliser on the hour mark, and new signing Dani Olmo gave Barcelona the winner with his 82nd-minute strike.
Rayo pressed for a late equaliser, and in stopping them from clinching their ambition, Bernal tackled Rayo's Isi Paladin late in the game. The collision had an impact on the youngster's knee, and although he was not substituted off, he had to be helped off the pitch by the club's doctors.
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He was seen leaving the stadium with a cast on his knees and was on crutches as a walking aid. The initial prognosis is that he has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which would effectively end his season.
What Flick said
A devastated Flick told reports they could not revel in the victory, as they were worried about Bernal’s injury.
“Bernal is injured and it doesn’t look good. We’ll see tomorrow,” he said, per Dario AS. “The victory is sad. Nobody is happy in the dressing room.
“We don’t know anything about Bernal; we’ve only been able to see him in the locker room. It hurts to see him like this because he had a great game. I just want to send him my best wishes.”
Should Bernal’s injury be as feared, it is unlikely Barcelona will be able to sign a replacement, as they struggled to register Dani Olmo. While the injury to Andreas Christensen helped them register the Euro winner, Bernal's status as a subsidiary player will not afford them this leeway.
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