MADRID-. He Real Madrid could not get past the 1-1 draw in the field of Vallecano Ray this Sunday on the 25th day of the League, in which he aspired to add three points that would make him take off at the head of the championship.
Joselu opened the scoring for Real Madrid (3), but Raúl de Tomás balanced with a penalty (27) in coach Iñigo Pérez’s debut on the Rayista bench, in a match that Real Madrid ended with ten due to a double warning against Dani Carvajal (90+5).
“It’s a draw that tastes like a victory,” Raúl de Tomás told DAZN after the match, adding that “the key has been to put pressure on them, not letting them think.”
After two consecutive league defeats, Rayo scored again against Real Madrid, which continues to lead the Spanish championship with a six-point advantage over Girona, who will close the day on Monday at the Athletic Club field.
“We are left with one point, which today does not make us happy, but for the future it can be positive,” said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after the game.
Joselu hits first
The meringues came to Vallecas in search of a victory that would allow them to take off at the top of the standings, but after the tie, Rayo grew, until they went head-to-head with the whites.
Real Madrid started very intense, dominating and easily reaching the domain of goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, helped by Rayo who tried to press up high, leaving many spaces behind.
The white dominance was reflected in a goal when a quick counterattack culminated with a pass from the right by Fede Valverde into the area, where Joselu appeared to make it 1-0 (3), validated by the VAR, after it was initially annulled by offside.
Real Madrid had absolute control of the game until a handball by Eduardo Camavinga in the white area was punished with a penalty, which Raúl de Tomás converted (27).
The tie changed the course of the match with an animated Rayo, who took advantage of the confusion that Real Madrid suffered after the goal to begin to arrive with danger, especially on the left wing.
“The game changed”
“Until the penalty we did everything very well and then the game changed, with more duels, more fights, more interruptions, it was not so easy to have ideas,” Ancelotti considered.
Álvaro García completed an attack from the left with a shot at the short post that Lunin cleared for a corner (43).
Before, Valverde had had the opportunity to put Real Madrid ahead again with a long volley that hit the post (35).
Real Madrid suffered in the minutes before the break, after which both teams seemed to come out more calmly.
Real Madrid gradually shook off Rayo’s forward pressure, which made the meringues’ movement difficult with Luka Modric and Camavinga closely monitored.
The entry of Toni Kroos for Camavinga (69) reinforced the Merengue midfield, which took control of the ball but failed to find a gap in the rival defense.
The meringues were about to take the lead in a free kick from the front launched by Kroos that forced Dimitrievski to fly (79).
The merengue team threw themselves at the opposing goal in the final minutes, but were unable to find the goal that would have made them take another big step at the top of LaLiga despite a last shot by Dani Carvajal that was stopped by Dimitrievski (90+4) before be sent off for a double warning shortly after (90+5).
Source: AFP
