Real Madrid paid a costly price for defensive errors on Saturday, losing to local rivals Rayo Vallecano 3-3, missing the chance to overtake La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Superstar Vinicius Jr. was sidelined by Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti from the beginning, and Rayo Vallecano took a two-goal lead in the first half as a result of mistakes.
Kylian Mbappe, the captain of France, was already sidelined due to a muscle ailment in his leg. Rayo stunned the champs with a goal from Jorge de Frutos after four minutes of counterattacking. He went past Fran Garcia and crossed to Unai Lopez, who then beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a header at the far post.
They extended their lead in the 36th when Lucas Vazquez nodded home from a corner, leaving Abdul Mumin alone. However, Real Madrid took the lead again three minutes later thanks to a strong long-range goal from Federico Valverde. Jude Bellingham equalized with a first-time effort from inside the box shortly before halftime after Rodrygo found him.
Augusto Batalla made a reaction stop as Rodrygo came close to scoring with an angled shot shortly after the half. But in the 56th minute, the Brazilian, who was unstoppable, gave Real the lead with a deflected strike from the edge of the area.
In order to inject some spark into Real, Ancelotti brought in Vinicius Jr. Batalla made a wonderful stop to keep him out, and minutes after Arda Guler’s goal was disallowed for offside.
Isi Palazon slipped between Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Ruediger to divert a cross into the net, shocking Real Madrid once again. Real seemed to be in control and waived away their appeal for a penalty for a foul on Vinicius Jr.
Batalla stopped Vinicius’ attempts to lead Ancelotti’s team to victory and substituted Endrick for him. Real had to settle for a draw that would lose them the title when Ruediger squandered a great chance late in the game.
