Rayo Vallecano 3-3 Real Madrid: Match review | OneFootball

The fans in Estadio de Vallecas witnessed a thrilling clash as Rayo Vallecano held Real Madrid to a 3-3 draw.

Arda Güler, Brahim Díaz and Luka Modric found a place in the lineup whereas Raul Asencio and Vinicius Junior started the game from the bench.

It took the home side only four minutes to shock Real Madrid, as Jorge De Frutos completely beat Fran García and his cross found the header of Unai Lopez to give Rayo the lead.

Real Madrid grew into the game and began troubling the Vallecano goal afterwards but some of the crosses did not find any Merengue player inside the box.

Soon after, Rayo doubled the lead after Abdul Mumin’s well-timed header from a corner ended up in the back of the net.

Real Madrid could feel the pressure since they would also be aware of the fact that they had not won a game away against Vallecano since 2022.

The Merengues pulled things back just two minutes later after Fede Valverde’s thunderous long shot ended up in the bottom left corner. The Uruguayan was always going to be a threat from outside the box and he proved it.

The game was squared in exactly the 45th minute after Rodrygo’s cross found Jude Bellingham’s header as the English continued his fantastic goal scoring from.

After a poor opening 35 minutes, Carlo Ancelotti’s side ended the first half tied with Rayo.

Real Madrid presented a much better showing in the second half and were also rewarded for it as Rodrygo also scored from outside the box from his weaker foot.

The comeback was complete and Madrid smelt victory – especially with Vinicius getting subbed on in the 63rd minute.

But then, Isi Palazon, who was having an exceptional night at this point, also got himself amongst the goals and the game was all square yet again.

It is very rare for even the best teams in Europe to score after Real Madrid have completed a comeback but the resilient Rayo side continued to show that it was possible.

Both full-backs, were having a poor outing with Vazquez not being able to cope up with their pacy winger and same goes for Fran García.

Camavinga, Endrick and Ceballos also made an appearance in the final 15 minutes with Endrick having a crack at goal but to no avail.

However, a controversial moment occurred in the 80th minute where Abdul Mumin clashed with Vini’s leg and a penalty was denied. No VAR check left Real Madrid fuming because Ancelotti and the players thought it was a penalty.

Despite keeping 64% of possession in the second half, Madrid recorded an xG (expected goal) of just 0.18 as compared to Rayo’s 0.71

Real Madrid would be disappointed that they dropped points in a game which, at one stage, was in their hands.

On the contrary, the Merengue club would also be delighted with Rodrygo’s performance, who won the Man of the Match award for a brilliant night. But surely the Brazilian would have loved it if his goal and assist had come in a winning cause.

Moreover, the La Liga title race got even more interesting with Barcelona losing against Leganes and Atletico Madrid replacing Real Madrid on the 2nd position. Just one point separates the top three sides and both Madrid sides have one game in hand.

Nothing can be predicted at this point because the race will just increase in intensity from January onwards. However, a win here would have done Real Madrid a world of good.