Without Kylian Mbappe and Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal who have been injured for a long time, and with Vinicius Junior only on the bench, Real Madrid entered Saturday's small derby with Rayo Vallecano. The “Royals” won the key match in the Champions League with Atalanta Bergamo in the middle of the week (3-2), catching their breath in this competition, and on Saturday evening they could take the lead in the La Liga table for the first time since the beginning of the season. However, the condition for this was victory on a very uncomfortable ground, such as the Estadio de Vallecas.
Cosmic emotions and sensation in Madrid! Real was already losing 0-2 and could have overtaken Barcelona
Although Santiago Bernabeu is only 10 kilometers away from Vallecas, Real Madrid did not arrive at all for the first almost 40 minutes. The ambitious home team tried to dominate the giant from the very beginning and took the lead in the 4th minute when Jorge de Frutos' cross from the right side of the field was converted into a goal by Unai Lopez from close range.
Real had one good opportunity to equalize when Rodrygo's shot from the penalty area missed Augusto Batalla's goal by centimeters. However, in the 36th minute it was already 2-0 for the hosts – this time Isi Palazon's corner kick was converted by Abdul Mumin, who surprised Thibaut Courtois with his header.
When you are leading 2-0 and you see that your opponent has nothing to say, you expect to be ahead at half-time. Rayo probably expected this too and perhaps let their guard down when, three minutes later, a shot from a distance was fired by a specialist in this field – Fede Valverde. No one blocked this shot, and Pathe Ciss may have slightly nudged the ball with his head so that the ball went towards the goal and goalkeeper Rayo Batalla was helpless.
But that's not all in the first half, because in the 45th minute it was already 2-2 when, after a throw-in by Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham stopped the unlucky Ciss and equalized with his head, scoring a goal in the sixth consecutive match league. The Englishman became the first non-player footballer attackerwho achieved this feat in the Spanish league.
After the change of sides, one could expect hurricane-force attacks by the awakened “Royals”, but even this was not necessary for Carlo Ancelotti's players to take the lead in the 56th minute. It was enough for Rodrygo to take a shot from about 20 meters, and the ball ricocheted and gave no chance for Augusto Batalia to make an effective intervention.
When it seemed that Real would now be on their way to victory at Vallecas, after a while Rayo successfully pulled away and equalized the score at 3-3. In the 64th minute, after Florian Lejeune's cross into the goal, Isi Palazon touched the ball and Thibaut Courtois had to pull the ball out of the net for the third time.
At that moment, Real Madrid already had Vinicius Junior on the pitch and it was the Brazilian who had the two best opportunities for the “Royals” to score the winning goal. In the 84th minute he took a very good shot from a tight angle, but Batalla made a great save and at the end he reported problems with his calf muscle, but Rayo had already taken advantage of all the changes.
During added time, Vinicius had the match ball on his head, but he shot dirty from a few meters and missed the goal. In the last action of the match, Real had to save Thibaut Courtois, who brilliantly defended Florian Lejeune's free kick.
After a fantastic display, Rayo Vallecano drew with Real Madrid 3:3, which left the “Royals” in second place in the La Liga table, a point behind Barcelonawhich will host Leganes at Montjuic on Sunday.