The race for the Spanish football championship is more alive than ever and remains exciting, since this Sunday the real Madrid lost the opportunity to get 8 points away from the Girona, his closest pursuer and, in exchange, it gave him the opportunity that if those in white and vermilion win tomorrow they will only have a 3-unit lead.
And this Sunday Real Madrid let go of two points in Vallecas, after beating Rayo Vallecano 0-1, the result got out of hand and the locals got the tie with a penalty goal from Raúl de Tomás at the debut of Íñigo Pérez on the bench
Yes, Real Madrid can never be considered dead, no matter how much everything is against them in a match. Rayo, in Vallecas, should never be underestimated. No matter how much he has not won before his faithful parish for more than four months. Carlo Ancelotti’s team felt it despite an overwhelming initial superiority. Going over an opponent in crisis with a powerful physique, finding spaces to damage, hitting him at the first option to increase his doubts.
When the meeting took the shape of a leader’s walk in Vallecas, Real Madrid’s day was complicated. After a frenetic start in which an error in launching the ball with his feet could have cost him dearly, in seconds he went on to find a reward with direct football. Fede Valverde’s move to the right wing, the powerful run and the center to Joselu’s free shot. Of first. Pure 9 that never fails.
He had refreshed his team Ancelotti after the wear and tear of ‘Champions’ and after three minutes he already won. Superior in all facets, punishing between the lines with Camavinga superior in the midfield, with Fran García providing depth on his return to Vallecas, Vinícius unbalancing. The Lightning transmitted weakness and nervousness.
Lacking competitive spirit in recent games that he let escape with actions in the final stages. He cost Francisco his job and in free fall, Íñigo Pérez, the essence of Andoni Irola, appeared to change course and try to regain peace of mind. The first impression could not have been more negative. The reaction full of neighborhood pride represented in a team, more hopeful.
After seeing Joselu’s double annulled because Lucas Vázquez lost the ball before the baseline pass, Rayo found the reward for their awakening. He appeared on the wings, taking advantage of the lack of help from Vinícius that cost him a reprimand from Nacho, and finding the vein on the right. Pacha found space, put it back and Trejo’s shot, heading towards the goal, gHe smacked Camavinga’s hand. The VAR warned the referee and De Tomás, in a fateful season, did not spare the opportunity to be reborn.
The penalty hit with the contained rage of a dull scorer. His first goal in the League. Powerful and focused at the top. It was the tie that drove Rayo and unleashed an unexpected doubt from the leader. The loss of control and offensive disconnection. With Brahim going from brilliance to absence. Lucas suffering in defensive tasks.
Fede Valverde was trying to get his team out of lethargy by hitting a shot on the edge after a rebound from a corner kick that hit the post, on the outside. But the intensity was borderline as demonstrated in the theft of Óscar Valentín from Modric, which enabled Álvaro to try to deceive Lunin with his shot and find the answer beneath the Ukrainian.
Ancelotti would end up resorting to the headlines he had reserved given the outlook for the match. After the error of a midfielder who is an emergency centre-back. Tchoauméni trusted in a risky action, instead of giving in to the goalkeeper, losing the ball, being the last man and saving Álvaro’s goal at the last moment.
Real Madrid already understood the path towards something positive, the competitive tension recovered, with Brahim reappearing in two actions to change the course. Finish the first one. Filtering the pass to Joselu, who shot low to Dimitrievski in the second.
With Carvajal, Kroos and Rodrygo on the field, the leader ended up seeking victory. Dimitrievski avoided it with his flight in the absence of Kroos and Rayo, recovering the job that he missed so much, managed that, in the last minutes of Madrid’s push, with Carvajal’s final long shot before being sent off, hardly anything happened that would put him in danger to seal a tie of merit. The only team that the leader in LaLiga has not defeated.
With this result, Real Madrid reached 62 points and remains at the top of LaLigawith 6 ahead of Girona, who plays tomorrow against Athletic Bilbao and could be three units behind the leader if he wins; The podium is completed by Barcelona with 54 points and fourth place goes to Atlético de Madrid, with 51.
With information from EFE.
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