Olmo's Dream Debut Seals Barcelona Victory

Dani Olmo celebrated a "dream debut" upon his return to Barcelona, scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 comeback victory against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Spanish international was unable to feature in Barça's first two games of the season due to the Catalan club exceeding their league-imposed spending limit, preventing his registration. However, his signing was finally processed this week, and he made an immediate impact at Vallecas.

Olmo came off the bench at half-time and struck the decisive goal in the 82nd minute, securing Barça's third consecutive win of the season. Earlier, Pedri had cancelled out Unai López's ninth-minute opener for Rayo.

"I am really pleased, really happy with the game and with the win," Olmo told ESPN. "It was a dream debut for me."

Olmo had been eagerly awaiting his competitive debut after joining Barcelona in a £48.5 million deal from RB Leipzig earlier this summer, following his impressive performances for Spain in their European Championship triumph.

The versatile forward, who progressed through Barça's youth academy before moving to Dinamo Zagreb at 16, expressed his unwavering confidence in the club's ability to resolve the financial issues delaying his registration.

"It was a dream, of course, to come back," Olmo added. "I had no doubt when Barcelona knocked on my door. So I'm really happy to be here.

"I was confident the club [would sort out the registration]. I was ready, physically preparing for when I had the chance to start playing. Today I could make it, so I'm really, really happy how it went, how it finished and how it was really important for the team."

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was equally impressed with Olmo's performance after introducing him for Ferran Torres at half-time, with his side trailing 1-0.

"He was waiting a long time to score a goal for Barça," Flick said in a press conference. "When he came on you saw we had more control with the ball. It was really good.

"He brings that, the ball possession is really safe and also in front of the goal he knows how to score goals. For a midfielder, it's not normal, but he's really good at it.

"I think the start of the second half was good for us and was the reason he was on the pitch. He's doing great, also without the ball, we are nearer the ball and pressing the opponent very good. He made the difference in the second half."

Olmo's winning goal cemented Barcelona's position as the only team in La Liga to start the season with three straight wins – a feat they haven't achieved since the 2018-19 campaign under Ernesto Valverde.

Despite the positive start, Flick remains grounded, focusing on the upcoming home clash against Real Valladolid this weekend.

"Now we have nine points and everything is good, but it's not like this," Flick said. "We will analyse [the game] and on Saturday we have our next match and we have to play much better than in the first half.

"We defended good, but not perfect in the first half. At half-time I said to the team with 80% it's not possible to win here in this atmosphere with Rayo playing well, many long balls with fast players. It's not easy to defend this. We have to put more pressure on the ball and we did better in the second half."

Barcelona's victory was overshadowed by a late injury to Marc Bernal, with sources telling ESPN the club fears the 17-year-old has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that could sideline him for a significant portion of the season.

"It's a sad victory because Marc is injured and it looks not so good," Flick said. "We have to wait until tomorrow to see how heavy it is. When you see the dressing room nobody is happy. He made a fantastic match – 17-years-old and such a performance. It hurts."