European roundup: Lewandowski and Barça frustrated by Rayo Vallecano

Robert Lewandowski’s Barcelona debut ended in a goalless home draw against Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou in their first La Liga game of the season.

It was a disappointing night for Barca whose fans showed up at an almost sold-out stadium to see their new team headlined by the Poland striker Lewandowski, the twice the Fifa Player of the Year, and the Brazil winger Raphinha.

Barcelona dominated the match with almost 70% of possession and 18 goal attempts against two for Rayo. But the two best chances fell to the visitors, Álvaro García thwarted by a brilliant save by Marc Andre ter Stegen and Sergio Camello shooting wide. As the frustration mounted for Barça, their captain, Sergio Busquets, lost his cool and was sent off for an elbow to the face of Radamel Falcao in stoppage time.

In Italy, the champions Milan turned an early one-goal deficit into a 4-2 win over Udinese at San Siro, ensuring a winning start to their campaign in an electrifying Serie A opener.

Two goals by Croatia international Ante Rebic plus strikes by Theo Hernandez and Brahim Díaz helped the Rossoneri to recover from their early shock after Udinese defender Rodrigo Becão put the visitors ahead 90 seconds into the game.

The Brazil defender, who nodded in a corner from a tight angle, scored for the fifth time in Serie A at the start of his third season in Italy.

“What didn’t we like? Surely the fact that we conceded a goal in such a short time, we have to start games better,” the Milan coach, Stefano Pioli, said. “Then we played half an hour of great football.”

Milan equalised in the 11th minute through a penalty from Hernandez, after the referee pointed to the spot following a VAR review when captain Davide Calabria was fouled by Udinese defender Brandon