Highlights:
- Real Madrid was defeated in the first match of La Liga this season by Rayo Vallecano.
- As a consequence of this loss, Barcelona is now in first place in the standings.
- On Monday, Real Madrid was defeated by local rivals Rayo Vallecano by a score of 3-2, which allowed Barcelona to extend its lead atop the table to two points.
Real Madrid was beaten by local rivals Rayo Vallecano in the opening game of the La Liga season on Monday during an exciting game that took place in Vallecas. The final result was 3-2 in Rayo Vallecano’s favor.
This nerve-wracking defeat by Rayo Vallecano ultimately gave an edge to Barcelona who ended up being the top team in La Liga.
Barcelona remains on top of LaLiga after Real Madrid's loss ? pic.twitter.com/X0JZW1RGtN
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 7, 2022
Luka Modric and Eder Militao scored for Real to help them come back from a 1-0 disadvantage after Santi Comesana had opened the scoring for Rayo. However, Rayo responded with Alvaro Garcia Rivera’s goal to tie the game, and Oscar Trejo’s penalty kick ended up being the game-winning goal.
The team captained by Andoni Iraola came out swinging in the first half with the intention of applying intense pressure on Real Madrid high up the field. They prevented Real Madrid from having any possession of the ball by having the Vallecano midfield look for any poor passes and then intercept them.
After only five minutes of play, Vallecano was finally able to get the breakthrough it deserved. Santi Comesana put the home team up 1-0 with a goal at the end of a fluid counterattack, greatly to the delight of the 14,000 people who were present inside Estadio de Vallecas.
Rayo gamely attempted to go for a second, but he was unable to locate the last ball. After 37 minutes, Real Madrid was able to tie the game thanks to a goal scored by Luka Modric from the penalty spot. The foul that led to the penalty was committed against Marco Asensio.
Eder Militao soared to his full height to head home Marco Asensio’s corner kick and give Real Madrid the edge only four minutes later. This was the second time in as many minutes that Los Blancos capitalized on a set piece.
After some pinball in the area, the ball rebounded out to Alvaro Garcia, who hammered home a goal on the volley to square the score and bring the match back to a tie. Unfortunately, Real Madrid’s advantage did not last long.
The second half saw a lot of dominance from Rayo Vallecano, who kept pushing aggressively in the same way that they did throughout the first half but without producing much that could be considered very definite.
On a night that was emotional for Barcelona as Gerard Pique announced his retirement, the club moved to the top of the La Liga standings with a 2-0 victory against Almeria. The goals came from Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong.
In the Champions League draw that took place earlier on Monday, Real Madrid was paired with Liverpool for a two-game series in February and March.
