Real Madrid escape Vallecas with a point after goalless draw

Rayo Vallecano 0-0 Real Madrid

Real Madrid have dropped points in La Liga for only the second time this season, having played out a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano on a sunny afternoon at Vallecas.

Xabi Alonso made changes to his side from the midweek defeat at Liverpool, which included returns to the line-up for Raul Asencio and Brahim Diaz. This saw Eder Militao drop to the bench, which led to issues for Real Madrid’s young centre-back pairing of Asencio and Huijsen as Rayo threatened early on.

Andrei Ratiu was denied by Thibaut Courtois after a surging run, while at the other end, the best chance of the first half fell to Vinicius Junior, whose close-range strike was brilliantly saved by Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla.

In the second half, it was Rayo that looked most likely to score. Unai Lopez had a chance, as did Alvaro Garcia, but he could only fire home from close range, much to the disappointment of the home crowd, who were in fine form at Vallecas.

Real Madrid’s difficult afternoon was compounded in the 83rd minute when Fede Valverde, who was starting at right-back once again, appeared to pick up an injury. He was replaced by Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was expected to be in the line-up following comments from Alonso in his pre-match press conference on Saturday.

Real Madrid could see their La Liga advantage reduced

It is now four seasons in a row that Real Madrid have failed to defeat Rayo at Vallecas in La Liga, which underlines how difficult a venue it is for Los Blancos to visit. A draw can be considered a decent result for the league leaders, although their advantage, which stood at five points prior to the start of the weekend, will be reduced to three if Barcelona were to defeat Celta Vigo at Balaidos.