Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu was steady but rather unspectacular, truth be told.
The most important thing for Carlo Ancelotti is that his side picked up three points, capitalising on Atletico Madrid’s mishap against Getafe to jump up into second in La Liga, behind rivals Barcelona only on goal difference.
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior ensured that happened with two goals in the space of four minutes, but the remaining hour of the game was a touch uncomfortable for the champions as they failed to get out of second gear.
How the game unfolded
Madrid should have been boosted by Atletico’s slip-up against Getafe in Sunday’s early game, but they were lethargic early on as Rayo Vallecano’s intense press forced some sloppy errors and concessions of possession.
Andriy Lunin’s flap at a corner set the tone for a nervy opening, though Vinicius did rattle the Rayo post just before the quarter-hour mark after a swift breakaway led by fellow Brazilian winger Rodrygo.
There was a heart-stopping moment for emerging young centre-back Raul Asencio as his no-look back pass arrowed past Lunin and narrowly wide of the post, but any lingering nerves the Spaniard had were settled on the half-hour mark as Mbappe showed his class to open the scoring.
Vinicius’ good work on the left released Mbappe into the channel and having broken free of Florian Lejeune, the 25-year-old jinked inside to rocket a crisp low effort into the far corner of Augusto Batalla’s net.
The Bernabeu were on their feet again four minutes later, this time to commend a wonderful individual goal from Ballon d’Or runner-up Vinicius. Running onto Luka Modric’s pass into the channel, the lightning-fast Brazilian refused to seek help from a Madrid teammate and instead embarked on a mazy run that had Lejeune following him around like a lost puppy.
Eventually, Vinicius weaved back into the penalty area and shifted the ball onto his favoured right-foot, and his low drive was deflected off the legs of Andrei Ratiu to give Batalla no chance.
In other games this season, Madrid have been allowed to cruise over the finish line after establishing a two-goal lead, but that was not the case here. Rayo were full of energy and endeavour, pressing high up the pitch in order to retrieve possession.
They were also crisp and connected with their passing and fully deserved to half the deficit thanks to Pedro Diaz’s thunderous effort, which was shown to have crossed the line after thwacking against the crossbar following a VAR check initially instigated for a potential offside.
Madrid never really took control of the contest thereafter, with Rayo in the game without fully threatening themselves, though they should have extended the lead first through Mbappe, who fired inches wide after more superb movement, and then through Vinicius, who somehow put the ball wide after brilliant setup play by the evergreen Modric.
The three points takes Madrid level on points with Barcelona, who did not play on Saturday after the sudden death of club doctor Carles Minarro Garcia saw their game with Osasuna postponed at short notice.
As important as this game was for Real Madrid, a lot of people were getting ahead of themselves and thinking about the Champions League round of 16 second leg clash with Atletico Madrid.
Not Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian knew he needed to play the majority of his big guns against a spirited, determined Rayo, who were full of running from the first minute right up until the last, and he got a good 80 minutes out of Mbappe and Jude Bellingham. Vinicius played the full 90 minutes, as did Lucas Vazquez at right-back after returning to the side.
The move paid off for Ancelotti as Madrid got the job done – his decision even more vindicated perhaps by the tight margin of victory.
There are lingering questions over whether Mbappe and Vinicius can really function together in the same Real Madrid team.
Both love to drift out to the left flank, using their explosive pace to beat defenders before darting in on their strong right foot, and their goals against Rayo followed that exact pattern. They played in an interchangeable front two here, allowing each other to play to their strengths at times as the other occupied more central areas.
It meant both were involved in the game and could build their confidence early on, making life hell for former Newcastle United centre-back Florian Lejeune and full-back Andrei Ratiu, who has earned some admiring glances for his performances this season.
The only question mark is whether or not Mbappe and Vinicius playing together unbalances the rest of Madrid’s team, but there’s no doubt that as a partnership they are as deadly as anything in world football.
In an ideal world, Ancelotti would have made more significant personnel changes without underestimating the impressive Rayo.
But the truth of the matter is that the five-time Champions League winning boss doesn’t have the resources at his disposal to do that, evidenced by the need to bring on Federico Valverde to shore things up in the second half. Madrid have injury troubles, that much is true, but there’s not the depth of talent available to the Italian when he really needs it.
The industrious, all-action running of Valverde are traits that Madrid need to find in another squad player, allowing the Uruguayan time to rest his increasingly weary legs. Further forward, there are question marks over whether or not Arda Guler has what it takes to make it at the Bernabeu – the fact his manager didn’t use him here speaks volumes considering the recent workload of Rodrygo.
Check out the full player ratings from Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano here.
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