On Saturday night, Real Madrid picked up another three points, this time against Rayo Vallecano. With this important win the White Team moved to top of the LaLiga table ahead of the rest of the weekend's games. Kroos and Benzema struck to give the madridistas the lead ahead of half-time, before Falcao cut the deficit on 77 minutes. It was considered an easy match for Madridistas but the team was not fresh for the whole time and suffered a lot at the end as Rayo Vallecano did their best to find the equalizer.
Carlo Ancelotti made two changes from the team that defeated Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek, with Eduardo Camavinga and Marco Asensio in for a fever-ridden Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez, respectively.
Madrid showed they were able to evade the visitors' high press from the off, with Karim Benzema firing off a warning shot which flew over the bar after being set up by Asensio on 11’. Three minutes later, Asensio was at the centre of the action once again as the Whites took the lead. The midfielder's assist, working his way through three defenders, was snapped up by Toni Kroos running from deep, and the German beat Dimitrievski with a nicely placed shot with the inside of his right boot.
As the minutes ticked by, Real Madrid had a fine chance to double their lead with 35 minutes on the clock. Carvajal threaded a sublime ball in behind the defence, and Benzema latched onto it, coming up with a delightful chip which went just the wrong side of the post. Three minutes later, though, the second goal did come when Alaba's fantastic cross from the left was turned home by Benzema with his right. LaLiga's leading marksman could have had his brace before the break, when Vini Jr.'s shot was beaten away by Dimitrievski, but the French forward headed the rebound over the bar.
Madrid had another chance to add to their lead after half-time when some fantastic individual play from Vini Jr. in the 51st minute was almost rewarded. Receiving in his own half, he drove forward with the ball, beating five opponents, finding himself closing in on Dimitrievski before Óscar appeared to deny him on the goal line.
Asensio came close three minutes later, but the visiting keeper came out on top in the one-on-one when the Spaniard tried to lob him. It seemed just a matter of time before the third goal would come, and it nearly did, courtesy of a fine piece of play. A back-heel from Vini Jr. in behind and another back-heel, this time from Mendy to Benzema, whose shot from the edge of the box skimmed the crossbar in the 61st minute.
The game was petering out as a contest, but Rayo Vallecano didn't throw in the towel, coming close to reducing the deficit when Bebé struck the post with a shot from the edge of the area in the 75th minute. Two minutes later Falcao's header clipped Alaba before beating Courtois to make it 2-1 with nearly fifteen minutes to go.
Moments after his score, though, Falcao sustained an injury and was forced off, while Ancelotti turned to Eden Hazard and Lucas Vazquez off the bench for Benzema and Asensio. Real Madrid were unnerved by the Rayo goal and the visitors from Vallecas were the ones closest to finding another score. Rayo could have equalised in stoppage time with an Óscar effort from a corner, but Kroos cleared it off the goal line. This was the third consecutive victory for the Whites.
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