Cristiano Ronaldo Backheels Madrid into Victory Against Rayo

Rayo Vallecano 0 – 1 (54' Cristiano) Real Madrid

Real Madrid played an away match against Rayo Vallecano tonight for the first time in nine years.  Rayo has won their last three league games against Zaragoza, Getafe and Levante, and are currently one point from qualifying in the Europa League – two for the UCL – next year.  It would have been a grave mistake on José Mourinho's part to not take caution.  But caution he did take.  The RM manager called up 20 men for the match, including youth teamers Joselu and Jesús. 

 

The match began with a bang, both teams looking to open up the scoring.  Rayo sought to complicate things for Real Madrid with set pieces, a brilliant move on their part considering how los Blancos have handled – or not handled, depending on you see it – them in the past few matches.  I admit, Rayo played fantastically and did a remarkable job in keeping their opponents at bay.  RM did not look like their usual selves, not having as much ball possession as usual, but they did create chances as seen at the 17' with Gonzalo "Pipita" Higuaín.  However, the Argentine international was unable to get past the young Joel Robles, GK for Rayo.  Cristiano Ronaldo tried minutes later at the 24' with a long distance shot.  Unfortunately the strike missed the mark.

Not to worry.  Cristiano got his shot at goal in the 2^nd half.  The half continued in the fashion of both sides looking for their strikers with long shots.  The Portuguese international finished off a corner from Mesut Özil with an amazing backheel at the 54'.  Missed it?  Watch here.  When speaking about his goal in post-match interviews, he had the following to say:

"I didn't even think when I scored. I just hit the ball with my heel and therefore surprised the defenders and the goalkeeper. I hit it strongly enough so they couldn't stop it. It gave us the victory, so it's worth twice us much to us."

- translated by Michael J. O'Donnell

Since Cristiano's goal, the home team suffered and los Blancos began to dominate the pitch.  Rayo left a lot of spaces for a RM counterattack.  Joel yet again, thwarted Higuaín's efforts.  How unfortunate for our #20.  Rayo came close to scoring at both the 72' and 74' marks by Michu and Casado, respectively.  However, Iker Casillas saved both times, most notably at the 74' when Cascado attempted with a spectacular distance shot.  They don't call him San Iker for nothing.  Had he made an error, Rayo certainly would have scored.

  

As the match drew to a close, the locals put more pressure on los Blancos, which was evident as we saw more of Casillas on-screen.  José Callejón, who had come in as a replacement for Higauín at the 75', had a golden opportunity at the 81' to up RM's score 2-nil but failed to connect.  Rayo had an opportunity of equalizing at the 90' when Armnteros found himself alone and on-goal, but missed the ball.  I wonder what thoughts went through his head when the final whistle blew.

Tonight's MOTM titles went to Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas – both well deserved.  No midweek match for los Blancos, their next challenge coming up on Sunday, March 4^th against Espanyol at the Bernabéu.  Until then, ¡Hala Madrid!

written by Gail Hidalgo