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Rayo Vallecano level with Real Madrid but down to 10 men in La Liga Pathe Cisse sent off for visitors after Jorge de Frutos equaliser Vinicius Jr had given hosts first-half lead Jude Bellingham replaced on 10 minutes after hamstring injury Victory will move Álvaro Arbeloa's side back to within one point of leaders Barcelona Keifer Mac Donald That's all for our coverage of Real Madrid v Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. See you again soon! FT: Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano After this dramatic, late victory against Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid will have a couple of days to regroup ahead of next weekend's game against Valencia. Alvaro Arbeloa's side then face Real Sociedad, Benfica (UCL) and Osasuna next. FT: Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano Elizabeth Conway BBC Sport Spanish football reporter at the Bernabeu You have to say Real Madrid deserved to win the match. They completely dominated the second half and should have won the game by a far greater margin. The significance of Mbappe’s late goal might only be fully appreciated later in the season. It keeps Real Madrid within one point of Barcelona at the top of the table. The reaction inside the Bernabeu is mixed. There is relief, but also clear dissatisfaction with the performance. Real Madrid didn’t make it easy for themselves today. I'm heading off to the press conference to hear what Arbeloa has to say. He will have a lot to answer for. Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano Full-time! Real Madrid squeeze past strugglers Rayo Vallecano to cut Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga down to a single point. Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr secure victory for Alvaro Arbeloa's side. Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano Drama! Rayo Vallecano are reduced to nine men as Pep Chavarria is shown a second yellow card for pushing Rodrygo! Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo are trying to run down the clock in the final few seconds and see out the win for Real Madrid. Read Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano That goal could be one of the most important goals of the season for Real Madrid. Mbappe has just kept their title hopes alive. It means they remain just one point behind Barcelona and don't suffer the embarrassment of drawing at home to a 17th place side, Rayo Vallencano. Kylian Mbappe Surely, that should be that for Real Madrid! Kylian Mbappe sends Augusto Batalla the wrong way from the spot to score his 22nd La Liga goal of the season. Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Brahim Diaz wins a penalty in the final minutes! The attacker takes the ball on the back foot and is cleaned out by Nobel Mendy. Kylian Mbappe has the chance to win the game for Real Madrid in the final seconds! Read Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Other than Rayo's early second-half goal, Real keeper Courtois has barely touched the ball. Real Madrid have completely dominated this second half but have been unable to convert their chances. Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Dani Ceballos slips the ball through to Rodrygo but the Brazilian can only aim his effort straight at goalkeeper Augusto Batalla. Will Madrid get another chance like that before the end of the match? ! Read Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Just as Vini Jnr wins Real a corner, a Rayo player goes down in the box with cramp. The whistles are electric. The Bernabeu knows how important these final minutes are. Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Vinicius Jr wins a corner for Madrid. Read Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Elizabeth Conway BBC Sport Spanish football reporter at the Bernabeu The Bernabeu cheers loudly when this is announced. What can Real do with these final nine minutes? Can Rayo Vallecano hold on? Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Madrid are desperately trying to win this! They are camped inside the Vallecano half as the clock ticks towards 90 minutes. Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Mbappe goes down inside the area but the referee says no penalty! Read Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano know exactly what they are doing. A point today, against Real Madrid, could be the difference between relegation and staying in La Liga. The keeper is taking as long as he can to take his goal-kick and Real Madrid are getting very frustrated. Players have started barging in the middle of the pitch as the tension keeps building. Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Eduardo Camavinga's strike hits the post! Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Vinicius Jr is shown a yellow card for trying to accelerate Rayo Vallecano's substitution. It means the Brazilian will serve a one-game suspension during Real Madrid's next La Liga match. Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano Goalkeeper Augusto Batalla is booked for time wasting. This video can not be played Late Mbappe penalty rescues Madrid win against Vallecano Kylian Mbappe scored a stoppage-time penalty to seal Real Madrid's win against nine-man Rayo Vallecano, after Jude Bellingham was forced off with injury. Nobel Mendy's foul on Brahim Diaz in the 98th minute gave Mbappe the chance to put Real to within one point of Barcelona in the La Liga title race. Vinicius Jr had opened the scoring for Real early on, a few minutes after Bellingham went off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Rayo Vallecano fought back, and levelled just after the break through Jorge de Frutos. Mbappe and Eduardo Camavinga hit the woodwork for Real, while Vallecano were reduced to 10 men with 10 minutes of normal time to go when Pathe Cisse was shown a straight red card for a crude challenge on Dani Cebellos. The home fans had been agitated at times before Mbappe scored from the spot, and there was time for more drama when Pep Chavarria was shown a second yellow card and dismissed in the 103rd minute. Bellingham was distraught when he fell to the ground clutching the back of his left thigh after 10 minutes, but the England international was seen to be walking unaided shortly afterwards. Vinicius Junior struck soon after Bellingham's exit, curling in a sublime shot after cutting in from the left flank but Real fans grew restless as Vallecano grew in confidence with Chavarria lashing a shot over the bar just before half-time. De Frutos equalised with a clinical finish, sweeping in a knock-down from Alvaro Garcia with a first-time shot and Thibault Courtois stopped Vallecano taking the lead when he used his feet to save from Andrei Ratiu. Mbappe seemed set to score when he went around Augusto Batalla after the Vallecano keeper had moved out of his penalty area, but the Real striker's shot hit the bar. Cisse was shown the red card after he caught Cebello on the left ankle, and Real went close to taking the lead again when Camavinga's header struck the post. Real's late pressure seemed to be for nothing until Mendy caught Diaz high up, giving Mbappe the chance to strike for his 22nd goal in La Liga. Chavarria received his second yellow card for time-wasting just before full-time as Real claimed their sixth straight win in La Liga. Bellingham suffers injury on Real duty Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 1st February 2026 at 15: 43 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Álvaro Arbeloa Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Manager: Iñigo Pérez Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Álvaro Arbeloa Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Manager: Iñigo Pérez Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Spanish La Liga All competitions All competitions All competitions Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.