Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano - Rodrygo nets late winner as Los Blancos stand with Vinicius after racist abuse

Rodrygo’s late goal earned Real Madrid a hard-fought 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano and moved them back up to second in La Liga. A drab encounter came to life in the closing 10 minutes as the visitors drew level through substitute Raul de Tomas in the 84th minute after Karim Benzema’s first-half goal, before Rodrygo struck the decisive blow to leave Rayo languishing in 11th.

Ad It was the first game since Vinicius Junior was on the receiving end of racist abuse from Valencia fans and rightly that dominated the build-up, with Madrid players and fans paying tribute to their 22-year-old forward. La LigaReal Madrid stand in solidarity with Vinicius Jr as team walk out in No.

20 shirtsAN HOUR AGO Vinicius had his three-match red card ban overturned by La Liga in the wake of the controversy, but Carlo Ancelotti still decided to leave him out of the matchday squad due to what was reported as a minor knee injury, as the Italian manager made seven changes to his starting line-up in a bid to arrest a run of two consecutive defeats. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos returned in midfield, but it was Benzema who made the difference for Los Blancos in the 31st minute when he ruthlessly took advantage of an uncontested drop ball for his 30th goal of the season.

Isi Palazon and Eduardo Camavinga came together on the edge of the Rayo Vallecano area, with the referee calling a drop ball, but rather than playing back towards his own goal, the French forward fed Federico Valverde, who returned the favour before Benzema rounded Stole Dimitrievski and tapped into the empty net. It was as opportunistic as it was controversial, with the Rayo players and manager Andoni Iraola incensed the goal was allowed to stand.