Kylian Mbappe kept his composure to convert a 100th-minute penalty, giving Real Madrid a hard-fought 2-1 victory over nine-man Rayo Vallecano in a fiery La Liga derby at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
The win cuts Barcelona’s lead at the top of the table back to just one point, after the Spanish champions beat Elche on Saturday.
Vinicius Junior put Madrid ahead in the 15th minute, calmly finishing after some neat footwork inside the box, but the hosts suffered a blow early on when Jude Bellingham limped off with an apparent hamstring injury.
Rayo, undeterred, drew level early in the second half through Jorge de Frutos, a former Madrid youth player, after Alvaro Garcia’s header set him up, prompting whistles from the Bernabeu crowd, still unhappy after Wednesday’s midweek defeat at Benfica.
The turning point came when Rayo midfielder Pathe Ciss was sent off for a reckless foul on Dani Ceballos, giving Madrid a numerical advantage. Eduardo Camavinga hit the post as Madrid pressed, and after nine minutes of added time, Brahim Diaz was fouled by Nobel Mendy in the box. Mbappe stepped up and calmly slotted home, his 22nd La Liga goal of the season, to snatch the three points.
Rayo finished with nine men after Pep Chavarria received a second yellow card for a shove on Rodrygo Goes. “The first red card affected us a lot and in the end we couldn’t take anything from here,” De Frutos said after the match.
Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa praised his side’s resilience. “It was a victory with a lot of heart, a lot of soul. The Bernabeu pushed us on against a team that always creates a lot of problems for us,” he told Real Madrid TV.
Arbeloa also welcomed the upcoming fortnight without midweek fixtures following Madrid’s early Copa del Rey exit. “We’ll use these two weeks to keep improving the team, individually and collectively,” he said.
Despite the win, the atmosphere at the Bernabeu was tense, with fans whistling their own players, echoing Arbeloa and Mbappe’s earlier pleas for support. Former Barcelona winger Ilias Akhomach came close to giving Rayo the lead early on, but Thibaut Courtois made a key save to keep Madrid in control.
With three points secured in dramatic fashion, Los Blancos remain in hot pursuit of La Liga glory, showing their mettle in one of the season’s most intense clashes.
AFP
