MADRID. Real Madrid conquers Rayo Vallecano 1-0 after K. Benzema scored just 1 goal (83′). Real Madrid was unquestionably better in terms of ball possession (66%) and that was among the factors of its victory.​

The match was played at the Estadio de Vallecas stadium in Madrid on Saturday and it started at 6:30 pm local time. The referee was Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos with the support of Rubén Becerril Gómez and Diego Santaursula Aguado. The 4th official was Aimar Velasco Arbaiza. The weather was cloudy. The temperature was cold at 9.4 degrees Celsius or 48.88 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 86%.​

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

Real Madrid was in firm control of the ball 66% while Rayo Vallecano was struggling with a 34% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Real Madrid was putting more pressure with 87 dangerous attacks and 16 shots of which 7 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Real Madrid won the match.​

Rayo Vallecano shot 18 times, 4 on target, 14 off target. On the other side, Real Madrid shot 16 times, 7 on target, 9 off target.

Cards

Rayo Vallecano received 5 yellow cards (O. Valentin, O. Trejo, I. Balliu, Bebe and A. Catena). Talking about the opposition, Real Madrid received 3 yellow cards (Casemiro, F. Mendy and D. Ceballos).

Standings

After playing this match, Rayo Vallecano will stay with 31 points to remain in the 12th place. Talking about the opposition, Real Madrid will have 60 points to sit in the 1st place.

Next matches

In the next match in the La Liga, Rayo Vallecano will play away with Cádiz on the 6th of March with a 2-1 head to head record in favor of Rayo Vallecano (6 draws).

Real Madrid will host Real Sociedad on the 5th of March with a 19-4 head to head stats in favor of Real Madrid (5 draws).

Rayo Vallecano – Formation

Rayo Vallecano started with a 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).

The manager Andoni Iraola Sagarna decided to play with the following team: Luca Zidane (7.8), Ivan Balliu (7.1), Mario Suárez (7.1), Alejandro Catena (7.4), Fran García (6.6), Santi Comesaña (6.6), Óscar Valentín (6.8), Bebé (6.6), Óscar Trejo (6.4), Álvaro García (6.8) and Sergi Guardiola (7.5).

The home team had on the bench: Randy Nteka (6.4), Radamel Falcao (6.4), Kévin Rodrigues, Nikola Maraš, Ismaila Ciss (6.6), Isi Palazón (6.3), Mamadou Sylla (6.8), Stole Dimitrievski and Esteban Saveljich.

Rayo Vallecano could not rely on the presence of P. Ciss (injured).

Substitutions

Rayo Vallecano made 5 changes: O. Valentin for P. Ciss (65′), Bebe for I. Palazon (73′), S. Guardiola for R. Falcao (73′), A. Garcia for M. Sylla (85′) and O. Trejo for R. Nteka (85′).

Best player: Luca Zidane​

Following our analysis, the most impressive player for Rayo Vallecano was the goalkeeper: Luca Zidane. His rating is 7.80. He performed 5 saves.

Real Madrid – Formation

Real Madrid started with a aggressive line-up (4-3-3).

Carlo Ancelotti played with: Thibaut Courtois (8.0), Daniel Carvajal (8.4), Éder Militão (7.3), Nacho Fernández (7.7), Ferland Mendy (7.9), Luka Modrić (7.6), Casemiro (7.0), Toni Kroos (7.6), Marco Asensio (7.1), Karim Benzema (7.2) and Vinícius Júnior (7.2).

They had on the bench: Federico Valverde (6.7), Luka Jović, Dani Ceballos, Rodrygo (6.2), Jesús Vallejo, Marcelo, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Fuidias, Lucas Vázquez, Eden Hazard, Mariano Díaz and Isco.

Substitutions

Real Madrid made 4 changes: Casemiro for F. Valverde (61′), M. Asensio for Rodrygo (80′), L. Modric for D. Ceballos (88′) and Vinicius Junior for E. Camavinga (88′).

Best player: Daniel Carvajal​

The player that probably impressed the most for Real Madrid was Daniel Carvajal even if he didn’t score the decisive goal.

His rating is (8.4) with 72 passes (90% accurate) and 3 key passes. He was won 5 duels out of 5. He performed 2 crosses.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the La Liga.​

• Atlético Madrid – Celta de Vigo – 2-0
• Mallorca – Valencia – 0-1
• Getafe – Deportivo Alavés – 2-2
• Rayo Vallecano – Real Madrid – 0-1