In the most recent happenings from the ongoing La Liga season, Real Madrid defeated Rayo Vallecano 2-1 on Wednesday at Santiago Bernabeu to cement their position as the second ranked team in the La Liga rankings. They are now sitting comfortably on the second spot with 77 points, 8 points behind top ranked Barcelona who are at the summit with 85 points.
As for the match on Wednesday, Real Madrid began by maintaining ball possession as they always do. It was Karim Benzema who got the opening goal for Madrid, putting them ahead of Vallecano at 31 minutes when he latched on to a pass on the edge of the box and scored from close range. This turned out to be the only goal of the first half that ended with Real Madrid leading 1-0.
The second half mostly saw Real Madrid dominating the play as they didn’t allow Rayo Vallecano too many chances to get an opportunity to equalize. However, even Rayo was keeping up well, not to concede any further goals to Real. It was in the 84th minute that Team Rayo finally broke through as striker Raul de Tomas levelled the score for his team.
However, the relief was short lived for Rayo Vallecano as Rodrygo managed to restore Madrid’s lead a few minutes later, just before the final whistle. At 89 minutes, Real Madrid were leading 2-1 as Rayo made some final desperate attempts to at least equalize. But that didn’t happen as the referee’s final whistle called for the end and Real Madrid’s victory.
It was the last minute goal from Rodrygo tha changes the outcome of the match that was uptill then, moving towards a draw. Nonetheless, a win is a win and as a result of this victory, Real Madrid are now assured a 2nd place finish in the La Liga rankings behind Barcelona and four points clear of Atletico Madrid, who are positioned third and still have a match to play. Rayo Vallecano on the other hand as currently placed 12th with 46 points from 36 matches.
The victory has given some solace to the Madrid boys who have come back from a crushing defeat at the hands of Premier League leaders Manchester City. Real Madrid, who were the defending champions from last season’s Champions League were dethroned in the semifinals following a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Man. City, who have now progressed into the finals to meet Inter Milan to determine the new Champions!
