Embarba VAR penalty downs Real Madrid and keeps Rayo's survival hopes alive

Rayo Vallecano kept their hopes of staying in La Liga alive after a surprising, but fully deserved 1-0 victory over Real Madrid at Estadio de Vallecas. Rayo showed hunger from the off and Real Madrid were well below par all evening. Zidane's side had eight changes from the team which drew 0-0 at Getafe on Thursday night and no-one put up a performance to impress the French coach. 

Rayo knew it was a must win game and they were positive from the first whistle by putting pressure on the Real defenders. Javi Guerra charging down Marcelo's clearance after 30 seconds was a sign of their intentions. It was a very open start to the encounter and the away side had the first opportunity with five minutes on the clock. Kroos took a short corner to Marcelo and his curling shot forced Alberto Garcia to dive to his left to make a tremendous save. Mariano nearly scored three minutes after a pass by Carvajal went to Mariano who saw his effort saved. 

It was not one way traffic though and Rayo also had their chances. Courtois had to make a brilliant save just nine minutes in. Bebe crossed from the far side to Pozo, who took a touch and then cut inside to before hitting a powerful left footed shot at the Belgian stopper. He had to go down low to prevent the goal. Both teams continued to attack and Courtois had to make another save. Luka Modric slipped in midfield and Rayo broke. Guerra and Mario Suarez played good one touch football before Pozo forced a super stop from Courtois. Madrid's defence was looking shaky. 

In the 20th minute, disaster struck for Real Madrid. Mario Suarez played a great pass to Alex Moreno on the far side, he ran down the flank before crossing for Guerra in the middle. Jesus Vallejo pulled him back and Guerra went down claiming a spot kick. Referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes waved away the claims, but after being called over by the VAR, he awarded the hosts a penalty. Vallejo was booked and Embarba sent Courtois the wrong way from 12 yards. 

Rayo were further lifted by that goal and they were in control for the next ten or 15 minutes. They were playing brilliantly and the away team were hardly getting anywhere near their goal. It could have been worse for Real as Mariano caught Galvez in the face in an off the ball incident. The referee missed it and it was borderline between yellow and red, but the VAR felt it was not a red. 

Real Madrid picked up in the last 10 minutes of the half and Mariano scored a beautiful chip after being played through by Bale, but he was clearly offside. Dani Ceballos, who was playing his 100th La iga match, then headed wide a Carvajal cross 60 seconds later, but Alberto Garcia in the Rayo goal was hardly tested. Bale picked up a knock before half-time after challenging with Ba, but it was nothing serious. 

In the second half, Real Madrid's shots on goal were still few and far between. In fact, they only had two chances in the second 45. Bale shot at Garcia in the 48th minute, which the Rayo keeper picked up after spilling initially and then a Bale free kick was tipped over the crossbar 20 minutes later. Apart from those two moments, Paco Jemez's side were very comfortable. In fact they had a few chances to extend their lead. 

Adrian Embarba's cross after 52 minutes turned into a dangerous shot which Courtois had to parry over and then Bebe called Courtois into action after a 30 yard pop just four minutes later. 

Toni Kroos picked up a knock after 57 minutes after getting caught in the face by Suarez. He got a blow to his head and required stitches, but he was able to play the rest of the game. Not even the introductions of Brahim Diaz, Isco and Lucas Vazquez were able to spark a Real revival. Brahim got into the Rayo area a few times and had the most impact of the three, but there was very little chance of a goal. 

Jesus Vallejo, who gave away the penalty, cleared off the line in the 86th minute after Javi Guerra was played in by Oscar Trejo. Guerra went round the goalkeeper before shooting from a tight angle. Vallejo sort of made amends for his earlier error, but Real Madrid put up another disappointing performance. They did get one free-kick in a promising position, but it was half-cleared before Carvajal's ball back in was too strong. Not even the generous added time of six minutes troubled Rayo and Real Madrid suffered yet another defeat.

For Rayo, this was a huge win. They now lie six points off safety with three games left, but their last three matches are against Levante, Valladolid at home and Celta, all relegation rivals. Realistically they need three wins. Two wins and a draw would require luck elsewhere. There is stil work to do and whether it is the start of the great escape remains to be seen, but if they go down, they can still remember this fabulous victory over their city rivals. For Real Madrid, it is another setback in a horrendous season for one of Europe's most successful clubs.