Real Madrid looked as if they had completed a trademark comeback against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday night, screaming into a 3-2 lead after being two goals down. Perhaps they did so too early though, as Rayo came back into game and got an equaliser.
The Real Madrid squad were reportedly furious that they were not awarded a penalty for a challenge on Vinicius Junior, which the club website blamed for their inability to win. As pointed out on Cadena SER, Vinicius was perhaps fortunate to be on the pitch at that point, which was not mentioned by either Carlo Ancelotti nor the club website.
However the players did not share the view that it was responsible for the result. In private, the Spanish radio station say the players admitted that a draw was a fair result, due to how much they gave away in defence. The attitude has improved in recent weeks, but the Real Madrid players are aware they are struggling to defend.
Following a run of three clean sheets in La Liga, Los Blancos have now conceded seven goals in their last four games again. In addition to Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and David Alaba, Ferland Mendy has also been missing in recent weeks, which was Ancelotti’s entire first-choice back four in his first season.
