Real Madrid lost the lead at the Bernabéu with a goalless draw against Rayo that leaves them two points below Girona and two more than Barcelona. The euphoria of the victory in Montjïuc was cut short with a match in which the whites were more than less. An acceptable first half was followed by a very bad second half, in which Ancelotti's team ended up unhinged against a Rayo team whose best virtue was an orderly defense and a goalkeeper who seemed in a state of grace.
With four changes to the team that won in Montjuïc last week, Madrid had as its biggest novelty the presence of Modric in charge of the operations in the center of the field, with Camavinga acting as Tchouaméni and with Joselu instead of Rodrygo at the top of the stroke.
Against a Rayo team that rarely crossed the center of the field in the first half and made Kepa a mere spectator, the game became complicated for Madrid very quickly, since in the third minute a poor release of the ball by Unai López allowed Valverde advances a few meters and appears in front of Dimitrisvski. The Uruguayan, with everything in his favor, had a terrible finish and hit the ball into the goalkeeper, a blatant mistake, one of those that makes you spend the rest of the game suffering from demons.
Without giving the ball too much speed, the first half was filled with scoring chances for the Whites. After Valverde's mistake came a real scare. Bellingham fell badly and was on the ground for a few minutes, freezing the spirit of the Bernabéu on an already cold night, the first winter of the season.
Luckily for Madrid, the Englishman, whose shoulder had come out, was able to recover and with a bandage entered the field minutes later. Soon the chances arrived, the two clearest ones coming from Joselu, first a poorly directed header and then a shot from point-blank range that the Macedonian goalkeeper took with a good stretch.
With Vinícius very subdued and continually protesting each of the plays that the defense challenged him, on a night like this Madrid notices what it's like to play with a good striker like Joselu, but not with a world-class star like Benzema.
The whites' lack of definition led the defenders to speed up the play with distant shots. Fran García, who replaced the injured Mendy, and Alaba, the protagonist of a ride that closed with a shot that was too high, tried it. The last of the chances was a reverse by Bellingham that if it had gone well would have been a flag goal.
The second half began without changes and Madrid immediately laid siege to the Rayista goal. After the first minutes, Francisco's team advanced lines, convinced that they would not be able to resist much longer so entrenched at the back.
A cross from Valverde after a ride from the Uruguayan and a diving shot from Joselu that almost missed the goal set the Bernabéu on fire.
Madrid prepared to make the final push in the last half hour, in which Rayo refreshed the team with Trejo and Kike to give more air to the midfield. In the 65th minute Vinícius scored but Joselu was clearly offside and did not get on the scoreboard.
Rodrygo came on for Modric and then Kroos came on for Fran García, looking for Carlo Ancelotti to give his team more clarity in the final meters at the cost of losing a defender.
The game entered the last quarter of an hour with Madrid very focused, but nervous and very imprecise. El Rayo was already a wall and the whites only found some air in the interns of Vinícius, who waged war on his behalf and who always seemed to have the last dribble to spare. In addition, a backheel from Rodrygo was the last hope of a Madrid that this time, without the magic of Bellingham, did not have enough.
