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| Guido Carrillo of Elche CF competes for the ball with Santi Comesana of Rayo Vallecano during the LaLiga Santander match between Elche CF and Rayo Vallecano at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero on February 18, 2022 in Elche, Spain. |
Elche scored two late goals to fight back for a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano at home in the Spanish league.
The loss kept Rayo winless in six games as they tumbled down the standings following a fantastic opening three months of the season.
Fran Garcia put Rayo ahead in the 52nd minute when his shot took a deflection off a defender and looped into the far corner of the net.
Guido Carrillo headed in Elche's 76th-minute equaliser when he rushed in to finish off an attempt by Pere Milla that hit the crossbar.
Milla set up the winner for the hosts in the 84th when he led a quick counterattack and threaded a pass behind the backtracking defence for Ezequiel Ponce to score past goalkeeper Luca Zidane.
Elche, who were in the relegation zone at the start of the year, climbed to 13th after only one loss from their last six games.
Rayo, who rose to as high as fourth in December, are now 11th.
Rayo face leaders Real Madrid next round before competing in the return leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Betis, where they need to overturn a 2-1 loss to reach the final.
