Real Madrid 4-1 Rayo Vallecano: Match review | La Liga | OneFootball

Real Madrid are back to winning ways in La Liga, having defeated Rayo Vallecano 4-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday night – although the scoreline made the contest look much more comfortable than it was.

Jose Mourinho brought the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Bernardo Silva and Yan Diomande into the starting line-up for the match, but it was another returnee that was key in the game’s opening goal. Alvaro Carreras got the nod over Marc Cucurella, and in the 14th minute, the former Benfica man was taken down by Florian Lejeune inside the Rayo penalty area, which allowed Kylian Mbappe to step up and score from 10 yards.

Just three minutes later, Carreras would get on the scoresheet himself. After exchanging a neat one-two with Mbappe, the full-back drilled in at the near post for his first goal of the season, justifying Mourinho’s decision give him the nod.

On 35 minutes, it would be 3-0. Vinicius Junior drove down the left wing before cutting the ball back to Jude Bellingham, who was able to cushion the ball into the far corner to complete an incisive first half scoring spree for Los Blancos.

Rayo fight back in second half before late Mbappe goal

Much to Mourinho’s annoyance, Real Madrid were miles off it at the start of the second half. Rayo got forward a number of times, and six minutes after the interval, they got their way back into the contest. A pass from Rudiger was cut out, with the ball eventually reaching in-form striker Sergio Camello, who poked home to make it 3-1.

For the next 20-25 minutes after that goal, Rayo were the better team – and by some distance. Giorgi Tsitaishvili should have scored in the 64th minute when he had two good chances, but in the end, Real Madrid were able to see it out – and they even added to their lead in stoppage time when Mbappe struck for his brace.

It was far from a comfortable night at times for Real Madrid, but they did manage to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Real Betis. They are up to 2nd in the La Liga standings, level on points with Barcelona.