Vinicius Junior missing in Madrid win after racial abuse from Valencia fans

Real Madrid forward Rodrygo

Vinicius Junior missing in Madrid win after racial abuse from Valencia fans

Stephen Oladehinde 20:38 - 24.05.2023

Real Madrid escape a late scare from Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu as they secure a vital win without the presence of Vinicius Jr.

Madrid were coming from the back of a defeat to Valencia, in a game that saw Vinicius Jr. being sent off after he was racially abused by the Valencia supporters.

However, Vinicius was not in the squad to face Rayo Vallecano even after his red card was overturned by LaLiga as they secured a 2-1 victory on the night.

Karim Benzema gave the home side the lead after so many chances and took advantage of half time break. Rayo Vallecano got the equaliser in the second half from Raul de Tomas's goal but Madrid got the winner late on from a Rodrygo strike.

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As it happened

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti made seven changes to his side that lost to Valencia on Sunday while the Rayo Vallecano manager made three changes to his side that lost to Espanyol.

The home side got the game quickly off the mark with lots of attacking threat. They, however, opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Federico Valverde put the ball on a plate for Karim Benzema, who scored with a simple close-range finish.

Madrid kept pushing for the second goal before the break but could not find an opening as the referee blew the whistle for halftime.

The second half started and Real Madrid kept pushing for the second goal but could not get their chances into the back of the net. However, it was Vallecano who got the equaliser in the 84th minute when Raul de Tomas broke through before collecting a brilliant pass and producing a precise strike to beat the goalkeeper. The ball went into the bottom left corner.

Rayo Vallecano thought they had secured a draw not until the 89th minute when Rodrygo collected a sweet pass and fired a low shot into the bottom right corner, leaving the keeper helpless and winning the game for Madrid.

Madrid returned to winning ways after the controversial loss to Valencia and also returned back to second position in the league table.