Madrid survive Vallecano fight back La Liga, Campo de Futbol de Vallecas - Rayo Vallecano 2 Viera 53' pen, 55' pen Real Madrid 3 Ronaldo 3, 48, Benzema 31
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale L celebrates scoring against Sevilla with teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Isco
Real Madrid picked up their first derby win at Rayo Vallecano in three attempts after surviving a second half onslaught from the home side, who are bottom in La Liga, to win by a narrow 3-2 scoreline.
A brace from Cristiano Ronaldo increased his season tally to 20 with Karim Benzema handing Carlo Ancelotti’s side a solid lead with more than 40 minutes remaining against one of their regional rivals.
But two quick-fire goals from Jonathan Viera from the penalty spot forced Real Madrid to hold on to three vital points in order to keep pace with Barcelona and city rivals Atletico Madrid at the top of the table.
Real Madrid’s midfield was bolstered by the return of former Liverpool playmaker Xabi Alonso who made his first start for Los Blancos since the end of the last season in the Copa del Rey final.
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After a frantic opening minute of action in the Madrid derby, Ronaldo was picked out in yards of space by Luka Modric and the Portuguese ace nutmegged Arbilla before squeezing the ball into the corner of the net for the opener.
That devastating early blow for Rayo - languishing at the bottom of the table with eight goals in 11 matches – didn’t deter the home side, but their lack of confidence in the final third was galling.
The nuisance-like pressing from Rayo’s midfield upset Real Madrid who saw Dani Carvajal and Alonso booked inside the first 10 minutes.
Rayo’s perseverance looked to have paid off when Lass Bangura’s cross was finished by Falque at the far-post, but his cushioned finish clipped against the offside Jonathan Viera and the linesman had adjudged the Rayo forward to have been interfering with play.
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Perhaps it perked Real Madrid back into action, as the generally anonymous Gareth Bale showed some electric wing-play, crossing expertly for Karim Benzema who made no mistake from inside the six-yard box.
Bale was involved again just after the interval, hammering what appeared to be the final nail in Rayo’s coffin with a neat cross for Ronaldo who slammed home at the front-post to create a three-goal margin.
Sensationally, within 120 seconds, Rayo Vallecano had cut the gap to one goal with two penalty-kicks, converted by the earlier villain Viera who sent Diego Lopez to the wrong side on both occasions.
Rayo Vallecano proceeded to grow stronger and increase in confidence as they forced Real Madrid on to the ropes in the last half an hour with Viera denied a hat-trick courtesy of an outstanding one-handed stop from Diego Lopez.
The home side were knocking on the door and the second half introduction of speedy winger Embarba added another confident element to their attack.
With Iker Casillas watching on from the dugout, which has become a regular feature of Real Madrid recently, Lopez stood frozen to the spot as Embarba volleyed narrowly past his left-hand upright.
After 73 minutes of action, the youthful Embarba turned Alvaro Arbeloa inside-out, cutting on to his stronger right-foot and blazing past Lopez’s crossbar. The teenager was making a notable impression on Rayo head coach Paco.
Among Rayo Vallecano’s array of efforts on Lopez’s goal – they fired more than double the amount of shots as Real Madrid in 90 minutes – Saul and “Tito” Roman came gut-wrenchingly close to securing a point.
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But with little domination, aside from the clinical attacks from Ronaldo and Bale, Ancelotti trudged off the pitch with his facial expression telling the story of frustration for Real Madrid. By Nevel