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| Santi Comesana of Rayo Vallecano celebrating 1-0 with Sergio Camello of Rayo Vallecano during the La Liga Santander match between Rayo Vallecano v Real Madrid at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas on November 7, 2022 in Madrid Spain. |
Rayo Vallecano have come from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-2, handing the champions their first loss in La Liga this season.
The defeat meant Madrid failed to reclaim top spot after two consecutive games without a win.
Barcelona are top on 34 points, two ahead of Real Madrid and 10 in front of third-placed Atletico Madrid.
Following their third consecutive win, Rayo climbed to eighth place, two points off the European qualification spots.
Since losing Ballon d’Or winning striker Karim Benzema to a thigh injury last month, Real have won only one of their last three games in all competitions.
On Monday evening, Real missed several chances in an end-to-end affair against Rayo, who are one of the most prolific goalscoring teams in La Liga this season.
“I wasn’t surprised because we all know how they play, they were better and more precise than us today and it’s a well deserved win for them,” Real manager Carlo Ancelotti said.
“We lost too many challenges. They were overwhelming. It doesn’t matter if you have more quality if your rivals have more intensity than you.
“We started the season well but the team has felt the exhausting schedule ahead of the World Cup.”
The hosts opened the scoring five minutes into the game through midfielder Santi Comesana, but Real went ahead with two goals in four minutes.
The first came in the 37th minute when Croatian playmaker Luka Modric converted a penalty after Marco Asensio was fouled, and the second came four minutes later with a towering header by Eder Militao.
Rayo forward Alvaro Garcia equalised just before halftime, scrambling home a loose ball before Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo wasted several chances to put Real back in front.
The second half was an ill-tempered affair, with six players booked and Rayo manager Andoni Iraola shown a red card following several outbursts at the referee.
Rayo’s resilience was rewarded as they were given a penalty of their own in the 67th minute after VAR spotted a handball by defender Dani Carvajal.
Real’s Thibaut Courtois stopped Oscar Trejo’s effort but the kick had to be retaken because the goalkeeper left his line too early.
Trejo didn’t waste his second chance, scoring what proved to be the winner with a tidy finish to the goalkeeper’s left.
