Real Madrid failed to win a second consecutive LaLiga game in losing to Rayo Vallecano and now trail leaders Barcelona by two points.
Oscar Trejo scored the winner with a contentious second-half penalty as Real Madrid missed the chance to return to the LaLiga summit after falling to a 3-2 defeat at Rayo Vallecano.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side track Barcelona to two points after the loss in Vallecas, where referee Juan Martinez Munuera and VAR played a major role on Monday.
Luka Modric’s penalty and Eder Militao’s header put Madrid ahead after Santiago Comesana’s opener, before Alvaro Garcia equalized in a breathless first half.
Yet there was to be more drama when Dani Carvajal was deemed to have been involved when Thibaut Courtois saved a 67th-minute penalty from Trejo, who converted the replay to secure victory.
Comesana fired Rayo into the lead in the fifth minute after curling a first-time left-footed effort past Courtois after Fran Garcia’s whipped cross from the left wing.
Martínez Munuera awarded Madrid a penalty in the 37th minute after looking at the touchline monitor as he watched a flurry of feet that saw Marco Asensio brought down by Fran Garcia, with Modric coolly converting from the spot.
Militao headed into the bottom left corner from Asensio’s corner to give Madrid the lead, but Alvaro Garcia left-footed a shot past Courtois to equalize three minutes later.
Courtois saved Trejo’s penalty after Carvajal was adjudged to have been tackled in the second half – again following a touch monitor review – but the Madrid right-back was penalized for interference, allowing the Rayo midfielder to find the bottom right corner in the second half. try.
That proved to be the winner, although Madrid almost salvaged a draw when Rodrygo spurned a great chance in the 89th minute to convert Asensio’s cross.
