Having gone through an extended spell of dire form in La Liga in recent months, Barcelona have turned a corner in style

Striker Robert Lewandowski on Monday scored a first-half penalty to give Barcelona a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano that moved them to top of the La Liga 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 table.

Barcelona returned to the top of the Spanish league on goal difference on Monday after Robert Lewandowski's first-half penalty secured a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano. The Catalan club took advantage of weekend slip-ups by Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid to move onto 51 points,

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.