Mbappe penalty earns Real Madrid late win over nine-man Rayo
Kylian Mbappe kept his composure to convert a penalty in the 100th minute, securing a 2-1 victory for Real Madrid against nine-man Rayo Vallecano during a heated La Liga derby on Sunday.
This result narrowed Real Madrids gap to Barcelona at the top of the standings to just one point, following the Catalan sides win against Elche on Saturday.
Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid shortly after Jude Bellingham appeared to suffer a hamstring issue and had to leave the pitch.
Jorge de Frutos equalised for Rayo early in the second period, prompting frustration from the home supporters towards their own squad.
Once Pathe Ciss received his marching orders, the momentum shifted towards Madrid, and Mbappe slotted away the decisive spot-kick for his 22nd league goal of the campaign.
Pep Chavarria also saw red late on for Rayo, who sit 17th and pushed a wobbly Madrid all the way before ultimately conceding.
"This was a win full of passion and spirit, with the Bernabeu crowd urging us forward against opponents who always pose tough challenges," said manager Alvaro Arbeloa on Real Madrid TV.
Coming off a midweek loss to Benfica that dropped them into the Champions League play-off stage, the Santiago Bernabeu faithful were in a critical frame of mind.
Despite pleas from Arbeloa and Mbappe for backing, the fans repeated their earlier dissent by jeering their players, just like in the recent Levante match.
Ex-Barcelona winger Ilias Akhomach nearly struck first with a shot that just missed, which could have inflamed the tense atmosphere had it beaten Thibaut Courtois.
Madrid faced an initial blow when England midfielder Bellingham clutched his thigh in pain and exited the field.
Vinicius put the hosts in front in the 15th minute, displaying neat skill inside the box before lofting the ball high past Augusto Batalla into the goal.
Arda Guler almost added a second, but Batalla blocked his attempt, and Vinicius missed the follow-up.
Although dominant after going ahead, Los Blancos drew whistles from their own supporters at half-time.
Rayo levelled just four minutes after the restart when Alvaro Garcia headed a delivery down for ex-Madrid academy product De Frutos to latch onto and fire in.
The away side could have gone ahead around the hour mark as Andrei Ratiu bore down on goal, but Courtois produced an excellent stop to thwart him.
Mbappe came within inches of restoring Madrids lead when Batalla charged off his line; the Frenchman rounded him but struck the crossbar from afar.
Numerical advantage
Rayo handed Madrid an edge when Ciss was dismissed for a reckless challenge on Dani Ceballos.
Eduardo Camavinga nodded against the upright as Arbeloas team ramped up the pressure, with nine minutes of added time signalled.
As time wound down, a penalty was given to Madrid after Nobel Mendy tripped Brahim Diaz, and top-flight leading marksman Mbappe buried it to grab the points.
Rayo ended with nine players following Chavarrias second booking for barging into Rodrygo Goes.
"That initial sending-off hit us hard, and ultimately we left empty-handed," De Frutos remarked to DAZN.
Arbeloa expressed relief at the upcoming two-week break without midweek fixtures, thanks to Madrids premature Copa del Rey departure.
"Weve played far more matches than weve trained, and those sessions are mainly for recovery at low intensity, something Ive really missed as manager," he noted.
"Well spend this period refining the squad, both on an individual and team level."