BARCELONA: Striker Robert Lewandowski scored a first-half penalty to give Barcelona a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano on Monday that moved them to top of the LaLiga standings.
Barca took advantage of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid dropping points over the weekend to leapfrog them from third-place to the top of the standings. Barca are level on 51 points with Real but ahead on goal difference.
Atletico trail both by a point, while Rayo Vallecano are sixth on 35 points.
Lewandowski netted the winner with a tidy finish from the spot in the 28th minute after Pathe Ciss fouled Inigo Martinez inside the box.
Despite Barca dominating possession, Rayo looked the more dangerous of the two sides and they should have scored the equaliser when Jorge de Frutos missed a header from close-range in added time.