Barcelona saw out a nervy win against Rayo Vallecano to return to the top of La Liga for the first time sinceough the Barcelona centre-back was never close to getting to the ball ahead of goalkeeper Augusto Batalla.
The visitors were incensed when they were denied a penalty following a similar incident, this time Ciss going to ground.
The controversy continued as Rayo thought they had equalised when Jorge de Frutos latched on to a through ball and finished past Wojciech Szczesny, but striker Randy Nteka – standing in an offside position – was judged to have interfered with Martinez’s ability to make a tackle.
Barcelona spurned several chances to score in the second half, and were fortunate not to concede a late equaliser when De Frutos headed over following a Rayo counter-attack.
Hansi Flick’s side go top of the table with 51 points, ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference, and one point above Atletico, with 14 games left to play.
