Rayo thrashes Cádiz and leaves Sergio González very touched

Rayo Vallecano, with goals from Isi Palazón, Álvaro García, Sergio Camello and a brace from French central defender Florian Lejeune, won 5-1 over a Cádiz team that ended up playing half an hour with nine players after Iza was sent off in the first part, and Rubén Alcaraz in the second.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
22 October 2022 Saturday 09:33
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Rayo thrashes Cádiz and leaves Sergio González very touched

Rayo Vallecano, with goals from Isi Palazón, Álvaro García, Sergio Camello and a brace from French central defender Florian Lejeune, won 5-1 over a Cádiz team that ended up playing half an hour with nine players after Iza was sent off in the first part, and Rubén Alcaraz in the second.

After five games without losing, but only one victory in that stretch, Cádiz arrived at the meeting badly needed due to their relegation situation and also with certain doubts, especially defensively. In search of a new air, Sergio González decided to change his back line completely with four novelties and bet on Álvaro Negredo in attack, who did not play in the last game.

The Cadiz team met in Vallecas with a Rayo that from the beginning came out to try to dominate the match and have possession, something that they achieved thanks to the trident that they formed between the midfielder and the midfielder Oscar Valentín, Santi Comesaña and the Argentine Oscar Trejo, who played with a splint on his left hand due to a broken metacarpal.

Rayo's dominance did not translate into goals early on because Conan Ledesma saved his team on several occasions in the first half, the clearest in the thirty minutes when he repelled a powerful long-range shot from Álvaro García and then Santi Comesaña's rebound from close range . When the first half was heading towards the break, Rayo struck twice. First through Isi, who converted an Iza penalty on Álvaro that also earned him the red card, and then with another goal from Álvaro García, who beat Ledesma with a high shot.

In the second half, Rayo continued to dominate the match against the ineffectiveness of Cádiz, who continued to make massive errors in defense and which caused the game to continually take place on their field. The game ended up getting complicated for Cádiz in the 63rd minute when Rubén Alcaraz was sent off for committing a foul that Florian Lejeune masterfully launched into the bottom of the net with a shot from thirty meters.

With a three-goal deficit and only nine players on the field, the game seemed eternal for Cádiz, who limited themselves to withdrawing as much as possible, knowing the risk of conceding another, as it did, after a good combination by Isi Palazón with Nteka that culminated in a one-on-one match between Sergio Camello and Ledesma.

With the relaxation typical of the result, Cádiz was at least able not to leave Vallecas empty-handed after an unfortunate play by Rayo in which Lejeune, while trying to clear a Mabil shot under the sticks, crashed his clearance into Balliu's head without being able to deflect the trajectory of the ball.

Rayo's end to the party came just after Nteka lost his temper and gave Fali a header that earned him a red card, preventing him from celebrating Lejeune's brace, who took advantage of a pass from Camello to the far post to push the ball unopposed . With this victory, Rayo remains in the middle of the table with 15 points, while Cádiz, with seven, is still in decline.

5 - Rayo Vallecano: Dimitrievski; Balliu, Lejeune, Catena, Fran Garcia; Oscar Valentine (Unai Lopez, m.69), Comess (Pathé Ciss, m.80); Isi (Salvi, m.80), Trejo (Nteka, m.63), Alvaro Garcia (Chavarria, m.69); and Camel.

1 - Cadiz: Ledesma; Iza, Chust, Luis Hernandez, Hawthorn; Nephew (White, m.66), Brian Ocampo (Lozano, m.56), Ruben Alcaraz, Faith San Emeterio (Mabil, m.81); Alex Fernandez (Fali, m.46) and Negredo (Lucas Perez, m.56).

Goals: 1-0: M.43 Isi, from a penalty; 2-0: M.45 Álvaro García; 3-0: M.63 Lejeune; M.78 Camel; 4-1: M.81 Balliu, own goal; 5-1: M.88 Lejeune.

Referee: Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz (Galician Committee). He admonished Trejo (m.31), from Rayo; and Sobrino (37) and Lucas Pérez (74), from Cádiz. He expelled Iza (43) with a direct red card and Alcaraz (52 and 62), from Cádiz, and also Nteka (86), from Rayo, with a double yellow.

Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 11 of LaLiga Santander played at the Vallecas Stadium before 12,975 spectators.