In Madrid, Real Madrid missed several opportunities and ended up with a goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano at their home ground on Sunday, resulting in them falling to second place in the table behind Girona.
Despite dominating the game from the beginning and taking 22 shots, the hosts were unable to find the back of the net.
This was the first instance this season where Real Madrid failed to score, leaving Carlo Ancelotti’s team with 29 points, two points behind the unexpected leaders Girona, who triumphed 4-2 against Osasuna on Saturday.
Following a dramatic 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad, Barcelona currently holds the third spot with 27 points.
Coach Ancelotti expressed his lack of concern about the scoring drought, stating, “I’m not worried about not scoring, we’ve tried in many ways, it hasn’t worked out and that can happen. The match was good, with a good attitude and a lot of chances, we lacked a good goal, we are hurt by the result but the match was good in my opinion.”
Rayo Vallecano demonstrated a strong defensive performance, led by their goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, who denied goals from Federico Valverde and Joselu in the first half.
In the 66th minute, Vinicius Jr’s goal was disallowed due to an earlier offside.
Raul de Tomas, a striker for Rayo, praised his team’s efforts, saying, “It was a very comprehensive game from the team. We know what this stadium is like but we have made a great effort and I am very proud of my team mates.”
In their upcoming Champions League match on Wednesday, Real Madrid will host Braga.
Janina Nuno Rios reporting in Mexico City. Edited by Toby Davis.
