Real Madrid secured a hard-fought soccer victory over their local rivals, moving them within one point of league leaders Barcelona.
Published February 1, 2026
Kylian Mbappé calmly converted a penalty in the 100th minute to give Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over nine-man Rayo Vallecano in Sunday’s hotly contested La Liga soccer derby.
A day after the Spanish champions defeated Elche, Los Blancos cut their lead over Barcelona to just one point and took the lead.
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Vinicius Junior scored an early goal for Madrid after Jude Bellingham limped off with an apparent hamstring injury.
Jorge de Frutos equalized for Rayo early in the second half as Madrid fans expressed their anger at their team. However, after Rayo’s Pate Sis was shown a red card, Mbappe converted the shot.
Pep Chavarria was also sent off in place of Rayo, who was ranked 17th, and they tried to corner an unstable Madrid team, but were unable to overcome them.
There was an unforgiving atmosphere in the crowd at the Santiago Bernabéu after the hosts lost to Benfica in midweek, forcing them into the Champions League play-off round.
Mbappe and Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa implored fans to support their team, but whistled at their own players, as they did against Levante two weeks ago.
Former Barcelona winger Ilias Ahomak’s early shot narrowly missed the target, but the atmosphere would have been even more sinister if his effort had slipped into the post of Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Los Blancos suffered an early setback, with England international Bellingham standing up clutching the back of his thigh before collapsing in agony.
Vinicius gave the opposition the lead in the 15th minute, showing some neat footwork inside the area and firing a shot past Augusto Batala and into the net.
Arda Güler almost had a second goal, but Batala saved his shot and Vinicius converted the rebound wide.
Los Blancos took the lead, but although they took the lead, the fans’ anger did not subside and they blew the whistle at the team during the break.
Four minutes into the second half, Rajo tied the score. Álvaro García nodded a cross down for former Madrid youth player De Frutos to reach and drill into goal.
The visitors should have taken the lead after an hour when Andrei Latiu ran through the net and Courtois was the only one to score. However, the Belgian stopper made a great save to deny it.
Mbappé was inches away from giving Madrid the lead when Batala darted in front of goal, but the French forward bounced the ball back and hit the bar from distance.
Rayo made life even harder for himself when midfielder Sith was sent off for an ugly foul on Madrid’s Dani Ceballos.
As Arbeloa’s side turned the screw, Eduardo Camavinga’s head hit the post, adding nine minutes of stoppage time.
With the clock ticking down, Norbel Mendy clumsily fouled Brahim Dias, giving Madrid a penalty, and La Liga’s top scorer Mbappé slotted the ball home to snatch the three points for his team.
Rayo finished the game with nine men after Chavarria was shown a second yellow card for shoving Rodrigo Goes.
