Madrid, Spain – Real Madrid returned to winning ways in La Liga by defeating visiting Rayo Vallecano 4–1. The match took place on Saturday evening at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as part of the competition’s fifth round.
Real Madrid raised their tally to 12 points; with this victory, they climbed to second place in the Spanish league standings, while Rayo Vallecano remained at 4 points in fifteenth place.
Real Madrid entered the match aiming to bounce back from their defeat against Real Betis in the previous round. They asserted their attacking dominance from the opening minutes, driven by the movements of Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé against the Rayo Vallecano defense.
Álvaro Carreras won a penalty for Real Madrid in the 13th minute after being brought down inside the box. Kylian Mbappé then successfully converted the spot-kick, putting the hosts ahead in the 14th minute.
Real Madrid did not wait long to double their lead, as Álvaro Carreras scored the second goal in the 18th minute. He found the net after exchanging passes with Mbappé and firing a powerful shot into the near corner of the Rayo Vallecano goal.
ألفارو كاريراس يضيف الهدف الثاني لريال مدريد بتسديدة متقنة من داخل منطقة الجزاء، بعد تمريرة رائعة من كيليان مبابي#الدوري_الإسباني pic.twitter.com/g8BbQo8Was
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 12, 2026The Royal team continued to press in search of a third goal. This was achieved in the 35th minute following a superb pass from Vinícius Júnior inside the penalty area to Jude Bellingham, who met the ball with a first-time shot that found the back of the net.
جود بيلينغهام يسجل هدفاً رائعاً لريال مدريد بعد هجمة جماعية مميزة، أنهاها بتسديدة أرضية متقنة#الدوري_الإسباني pic.twitter.com/KdJsdKvlyv
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 12, 2026At the start of the second half, Rayo Vallecano managed to narrow the deficit in the 51st minute through Camello, who fired a shot past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Vinícius Júnior nearly restored the three-goal lead in the 59th minute with a low shot from inside the penalty area, but the Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper saved it.
Tsitaishvili missed a chance to further narrow the deficit in the 64th minute. He connected with a cross in front of the Real Madrid goal but headed the ball over the crossbar.
In stoppage time—specifically in the 90+1 minute—Real Madrid sealed the match with a fourth goal. The goal came after Eduardo Camavinga led a rapid counter-attack and passed the ball to Arda Güler, who then set it up for Mbappé; the French forward fired a powerful first-time shot into the net.
