Kylian Mbappé kept his composure to slot home a 100th-minute penalty and earn Real Madrid a 2–1 victory over nine-man Rayo Vallecano on Sunday in a fiery La Liga derby.
Los Blancos cut Barcelona’s lead at the top of the table to one point after the Spanish champions beat Elche on Saturday.
Vinícius Júnior opened the scoring early for Madrid after Jude Bellingham limped off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Jorge de Frutos drew Rayo level early in the second half as Madrid fans voiced their frustration following the midweek Champions League defeat to Benfica.
After Pathe Ciss was sent off, swinging the balance in Madrid’s favour, Mbappé converted from the spot deep into stoppage time to claim his 22nd La Liga goal of the season.
Pep Chavarría was also dismissed late on for Rayo, who sit 17th and pushed a nervy Madrid all the way before falling short.
Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said consistency would take time, having been in charge for six matches since replacing Xabi Alonso.
“I’m not Gandalf the White,” Arbeloa told reporters, referencing the Lord of the Rings wizard.
“What I want from my players is what I’m seeing—commitment, attitude and mentality. To win every game, quality alone is not enough; consistency is key.
“We will work on that in terms of performance, mentality, ambition and attitude.”
Arbeloa added that Madrid must outperform their rivals to win because of the weight of their name.
“This is Real Madrid, and to beat Rayo Vallecano we need to do more than the rest of the teams in La Liga,” he said.
The coach said Bellingham would be a “big absence” in the coming matches if his injury proves serious but added, “For now, we don’t know anything.”
After the defeat in Portugal left Madrid facing a Champions League play-off, the Santiago Bernabéu crowd was in an unforgiving mood.
Despite pleas for support from Arbeloa and Mbappé, fans again whistled their own players, as they had done a fortnight earlier against Levante.
Madrid suffered an early blow when England international Bellingham pulled up clutching the back of his thigh and left the pitch in clear pain.
Vinícius put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute, showing neat footwork inside the area before firing high past Augusto Batalla.
Although in control, Madrid were jeered off at half-time despite their lead.
Four minutes after the restart, Rayo equalised. Álvaro García headed a cross down for De Frutos, a former Madrid youth player, who drilled the ball home.
Rayo nearly went ahead after an hour when Andrei Rațiu broke through one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois, but the Belgian goalkeeper produced a superb save.
Mbappé came close to restoring Madrid’s lead when Batalla rushed out, but his effort struck the crossbar.
Numerical advantage
Rayo’s task became harder when midfielder Ciss was sent off for a reckless foul on Dani Ceballos.
Eduardo Camavinga later headed against the post as Madrid increased the pressure.
With nine minutes of added time nearly elapsed, Madrid was awarded a penalty after Nobel Mendy clumsily fouled Brahim Díaz. Mbappé calmly converted to snatch all three points.
Rayo ended the match with nine men after Chavarría received a second yellow card for pushing Rodrygo Goes.
“The important thing is to improve, to grow as a team and to stay calmer. We can’t always wait for the opponent to make a mistake,” said Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde.
Arbeloa said he was now looking forward to a fortnight without midweek matches following Madrid’s early Copa del Rey exit.
“We’ve had more games than training sessions, and training has mostly been about recovery,” he said.
“We’ll use these two weeks to keep improving the team, both individually and collectively.”
Elsewhere, Pablo Fornals scored as Real Betis secured a 2–1 win over Valencia, lifting the Andalusians to fifth place.
