Rayo Vallecano 3 Real Madrid 3: Referee drama, Rodrygo’s revival, same defensive problems

Real Madrid missed out on reaching the top of La Liga after Rayo Vallecano suffered a turbulent 3-3 draw.

“There are draws and draws, but this one shows that they are a solid team that fought and competed,” said Carlo Ancelotti. “We are on the right track.”

But Rayo, led by Inigo Perez, the former assistant to Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola, gave Madrid a difficult time.

They took a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Unai Lopez and Abdul Mumin before Madrid fought back with performances from Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo. Just when it looked like Madrid had completed the comeback, Isi Palazon struck to earn Rayo a point.

And in the end there was still time for protests from Madrid when, much to the club’s annoyance, Vinicius Junior called for a penalty that referee Juan Martinez Munuera didn’t give.

Madrid are now one point behind Barcelona at the top of the table, with both teams having played the same number of games before Barca face Leganes this evening.

Here we analyze the key talking points from Madrid’s visit to Rayo’s Vallecas Stadium.

With or without Mbappe and Vinicius Jr., defensive problems remain

With the injured Kylian Mbappe missing and Vinicius Jr initially rested, Ancelotti had no choice but to reinvent his system. Madrid’s Rodrygo on the left and Bellingham on the right of their 4-4-2 formation initially start with Brahim Diaz and Arda Guler up front.

They were effective in attack. Bellingham remains in fine form and has now scored in six consecutive league games, something he had never managed before in his career – not even in his successful debut season with Madrid. Guler shone and provided two assists: he passed to Valverde for his brilliant long-range shot and to Rodrygo for Madrid’s third shot.

The strikers were also heavily involved in defense – unlike Vinicius Jr. and especially Mbappe, who are usually left without the ball as free players.

This has been one of the coaching staff’s biggest concerns this season, who feel they have suffered defensively because their star strikers have not been included in the return. They highlighted this to the attacking duo.

Lopez heads Rayo forward (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

But even without these two against Rayo, the team’s defensive problems remained. Rayo were excellent in the first half hour, turning the game into a nightmare for Madrid full-backs Fran Garcia and Lucas Vazquez.

The 170cm Lopez found space in the fourth minute and calmly headed past Thibaut Courtois, and both Madrid full-backs were also involved in Rayo’s second goal, which Moomin converted from a corner. The central defenders Antonio Rüdiger and Aurelien Tchouameni were also poorly positioned.

The defensive instability continued into the second half. Palazon’s equalizer in the 64th minute came by exploiting the space behind Madrid’s central defenders. Madrid have conceded 16 goals in La Liga, compared to 11 at this point last season.

With or without Mbappe or Vinicius Jr. (who came on in the 63rd minute), Madrid has room for improvement in defense.

Rodrygo breaks his goal drought and flourishes on the left side

He hasn’t been at his best this season, but Rodrygo has stepped up when he was needed here. The 23-year-old Brazilian had not scored since September 24 against Alaves and broke that drought here with his goal in the 56th minute.

Rodrygo suffered three muscle injuries this season which prevented him from retaining a place in the starting eleven. His chances of starting were not helped by Mbappe’s arrival and Ancelotti’s return to a two-striker system.

The coaching staff consider him to be the player most likely to drop out of the attack as they believe Vinicius Jr, Bellingham and Mbappe are ahead of him. But Rodrygo returned to the left side of Madrid’s attack in Vinicius Jr’s initial absence against Rayo and it could have done him no more good.

He scored, prepared an assist, had two shots on goal, completed four of six dribbles and made three crucial passes. He forced a save from Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla in the 13th minute, created a dangerous chance for Guler when Madrid were 2-0 down, then set up the cross for Bellingham’s header to make it 2-2.

Rodrygo celebrates his goal (Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images)

The most satisfying moment for the Brazilian, however, was his long-range shot in the 56th minute, which deflected off defender Andrei Ratiu and past Batalla to make it 3-2. Rodrygo celebrated wildly and all his teammates joined him, knowing full well the frustrating situation he found himself in.

“After a difficult start, he is back in top form. We are happy,” said Ancelotti.

As time went on, Rodrygo faded more and more into the background in Ancelotti’s plans. There were rumors of interest from Manchester City in the summer and their coach Pep Guardiola is known to be a big admirer of the Brazilian.

Although Rodrygo stayed for this season, some voices in his camp are still considering the possibility of an exit, unhappy with his recent lack of exposure.

Rodrygo has averaged a goal or assist every 174 minutes this season, making him the worst average striker for Madrid. But his performance against Rayo showed that he can offer more to Madrid when he is fit and healthy.

Madrid turns against the referee

In the 75th minute, Guler hit a cross into the penalty area, making the score 50-50. Vinicius Jr. was tripped by Moomin, who didn’t appear to touch the ball. The striker protested and Ancelotti was also angry. The Brazilian had been shown a yellow card shortly before that incident for angrily protesting to the referee about a different decision, meaning he will miss Madrid’s final game of 2024 against Sevilla next Sunday.

Vinicius Jr. is overthrown by Moomin (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

VAR assistant referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes saw no signs of a penalty and field referee Martinez Munuera did not go to the screen to check. Ancelotti doesn’t usually talk about referees, but said: “In the replay it seems very clear to me.”

Madrid tends to be more open about the officials’ performance. Its official television channel highlighted the alleged errors it believed had been made, and the headline of the club’s match report on the official website read: “Controversial refereeing prevents Madrid from winning.”

The anger of the Madrid leadership was clearly felt. They have long criticized referees and their distrust has only deepened since the investigation into Barcelona’s payments to former referee boss Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira took place, with Madrid and president Florentino Perez officially entering the dispute as injured parties. Enriquez Negreira and Barca have denied any wrongdoing. The club said he was hired as an “external consultant” who prepared reports “related to professional refereeing.”

This latest decision will do nothing to assuage Madrid’s perceived injustice as they continue to demand changes to the Spanish refereeing system.

(Top photo: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images)