February 27, (THEWILL) – Real Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 on Saturday evening, relying on Karim Benzema’s late goal to go a step closer to wrestling the La Liga title from the grasp of defending champions Atletico Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team has taken advantage of the fact that their nearest rivals, Sevilla, are in action tomorrow in their own local derby, facing third-placed Real Betis in a massive match, and now hold a nine-point lead at the top of Spain’s top flight.
The fact that Real Madrid had not scored in the first 45 minutes of any of their previous seven matches in all competitions was an incredible footnote to the game.
Despite that terrible record, Los Blancos got off to a strong start and should have broken the deadlock within the first five minutes, but Marco Asensio squandered two excellent chances. Luca Zidane (son of Real Madrid icon Zinedine) did enough to stop the Spaniard on both occasions, despite Luka Modric and Karim Benzema putting him through on goal early on.
Real’s early control diminished as the game went on, with Rayo enjoying some good phases of play and a pair of notable headed chances squandered by Sergi Guardiola. But, the visitors remained the most likely to score first.
Asensio continued to threaten, having a good curling effort brilliantly saved by Zidane at full stretch, Benzema went close with a deflected effort that sailed just past the post before having a close-range header brilliantly stopped by Zidane. Casemiro even had a goal ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Real Madrid would have to wait until the second half to break the deadlock, marking the eighth straight encounter in which Ancelotti’s side has failed to score in the first half.
After Thibaut Courtois made a brilliant reaction save to deny Mario Suarez a headed goal from close range, Real ultimately found the opener with seven minutes to go.
It a]rose from Benzema and Vinicius Junior’s superbly natural and impenetrable combination. In the opposing penalty area, the two linked up brilliantly to cut apart Rayo, with the Frenchman eventually tapping in his colleague’s cut-back.
Ancelotti’s men would finally see out the minutes to a significant win in their chase of a 35th La Liga crown, despite a slog of a second half. Vallecano dropped to 12th place as a result of their loss, while Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga to nine points, temporarily.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
