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Spanish champions Real Madrid made a short crosstown trip to the Estadio de Vallecas to take on Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Monday night (November 7). Carlo Ancelotti’s men looked considerably below their formidable best, succumbing to a disappointing 3-2 defeat away from home.
Santi Comesana, Alvaro Garcia, and Oscar Trejo found the back of the net for the home team while Luka Modric and Eder Militao scored for the visiting side. The result, which marked Real Madrid’s first league defeat this season, allowed Barcelona to go two points clear at the top of the La Liga table.
Full of vigor and physicality, the hosts came charging off the gates, showing that they were not going to be too respectful of the lofty visitors. Alejandro Catena brought down Vinicius Junior with a rough tackle within two minutes, picking up a yellow card for the infraction. Rodrygo took the resulting free-kick but failed to keep it on target.
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Four minutes later, winger Francisco Garcia fed Comesana a perfect cross from the left, and the midfielder made no mistake volleying it past Thibaut Courtois. Rayo continued to press their opponents frantically, disrupting their natural build-up.
It took Los Merengues 37 minutes to find the equalizer, with Luka Modric dispatching a sweet penalty after Marco Asensio was brought down inside the Rayo box. Four minutes later, Militao put Los Blancos in the lead, directing a thumping header from an Asensio corner.
Just when Real Madrid looked like getting a foothold in the game, Rayo hit back, with Alvaro Garcia equalizing with a thunderous strike from inside the box one minute before half time.
The visitors started the second half brightly, creating their first goalscoring opportunity within the first three minutes. Asensio spearheaded Real Madrid's counterattack, laying it off for Rodrygo down the left-hand channel. The Brazilian, however, lost his bearings and skied his effort well over the bar.
On the hour mark, Rayo created their first clear-cut opening. Francisco Garcia delivered a teasing cross into the box for Sergio Camello, but the forward failed to keep his header on the money. The goal finally came in the 68th minute, when Trejo beat Courtois from the penalty spot on his second attempt. The Belgian did well to stop Trejo’s initial effort, but the kick was retaken after Carvajal was found guilty of encroachment.
Madrid tried to force a breakthrough in the final 22 minutes, but could not pierce Rayo’s heavily-armored rearguard.
Except for a couple of players, every Los Blancos starter failed to make their mark against Rayo. Here are three Madrid players who disappointed and two who were impressive in their defeat to Rayo on Monday:
Underperformed: Luka Modric
Although he did well to convert his 37th-minute penalty, it was far from an impressive performance from the team’s skipper. The veteran midfielder struggled to keep up with the pace of the game, misplaced way too many passes, and did not create chances for the forwards to pounce on.
The Croatia veteran did not play any key passes, misplaced all of his attempted four crosses and two long balls and lost both his ground duels against Rayo. Additionally, he lost possession 17 times, was dribbled past once, and got needlessly booked for throwing the ball away in frustration in the 60th minute.
Performed: Eder Militao
Brazil international Eder Militao was also below his best against Rayo, but he was still the team’s most dependable defender. He cleared the ball without any hesitation, won his fair share of battles, and committed himself when required. Militao also scored a superb header in the 41st minute to put his team in the lead, albeit for a fleeting couple of minutes.
On Monday night, Militao made five clearances, attempted two tackles, and won all five of his ground duels. Offensively, he made two key passes, delivered three accurate long balls, and completed a dribble.
Underperformed: Rodrygo
Replacing the injured Karim Benzema, Rodrygo failed to take his chances in Real Madrid’s attack on Monday. He was wayward in front of goal, his link-up play was subpar, and could not hold his ground against Rayo’s spirited players. His worst miss of the match came in the 90th minute when he failed to tap home Asensio’s brilliant cross from point-blank range.
On La Liga matchday 13, Rodrygo lodged four shots, with none of them hitting the target. He failed in two of his three attempted dribbles, misplaced a long ball and lost four of seven duels. He also lost possession six times and was booked for a cynical challenge in the 70th minute.
Performed: Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio was easily Real Madrid’s player of the match against Rayo on Monday. The Spaniard impressed with his superb link-up play, created multiple goalscoring opportunities, won a penalty in the 37th minute, and assisted Militao's goal from a corner.
At the Estadio de Vallecas, Asensio made three key passes, created two big chances, completed all 28 of his attempted passes, and delivered three accurate crosses. He also won six of nine ground duels, drew three fouls, and attempted two tackles.
Underperformed: Daniel Carvajal
Right-back Daniel Carvajal produced his worst performance of the 2022-23 season against Rayo on Monday.
The Spaniard could not keep up with Alvaro Garcia and Fran Garcia’s pace on the right, which helped Rayo create multiple chances down their left flank. Additionally, Carvajal handled the ball in the penalty area in the 64th minute, prompting the VAR to award Rayo a spot kick. To make matters worse, he was the reason why Courtois’ fantastic penalty save did not count, as he encroached on the area during Trejo’s kick.
Carvajal did not play any key passes, misplaced all four of his attempted crosses and lost one ground duel on Monday night. Additionally, he lost possession 14 times, committed a foul, and misplaced eight of 36 passes.
