It’s February 1st, and the day before Barcelona defeated Elche 1-3. Goals by Lamine Yamal, Ferran, and Rashford help take the win. Barcelona are now 4 points clear at the top of the table. Real Madrid NEED to defeat Rayo Vallecano, who sit in the relegation zone, to stay in the title race.
The clock hits 7:00 AM, and the whistle is blown; the match has begun. Early in the game, Jude Bellingham falls down and has to be subbed off due to a non-contact injury in his hamstring. Brahim Diaz replaces Jude. Shortly after that, Vinicius Junior scored a spectacular goal in the 15’ minute. He dribbles past multiple defenders and finishes it in the top corner. The rest of the first half is a stalemate, shots from both sides, but the score stays the same, and then the halftime whistle is blown.
The second half begins with an early substitution from Real Madrid, featuring the entry of Dani Ceballos and the exit of Raul Asencio. Immediately after that, Rayo Vallecano tied the game! An awesome half-volley goal by Jorge de Frutos shocks Real Madrid. Rayo Vallecano gains its spirit and becomes aggressive to get a winner. They become a little too aggressive, which causes Gerard Gumbau to get shown a yellow. A double substitution by Rayo Vallecano, Pedro Diaz and Oscar Valentin are in, Jorge de Frutos and Gerard Gumbau are out. Pep Chavarria is shown a yellow. Franco Mastantuono is subbed off for Gonzalo Garcia, Real Madrid’s future talent. The second half is even, after Rayo’s equalizer, Real Madrid seems to have slowed down. Both sides are getting aggressive, and Real Madrid get their first yellow. More yellows to Rayo. A nasty challenge by Pathe Ciss makes Rayo play with 10 men. More yellows to both teams.
After a full 90 minutes, the ref adds an additional 9 minutes. Rayo’s player, Alfonso Espino, is shown the last yellow of the game, as he does a bad challenge in the box and gives Real Madrid the chance to win the game. A penalty. Kylian Mbappe steps up and scores in the last minute of the game! Real Madrid get their 3 points and are still in the title race!
