Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano: Mbappe’s late penalty seals dramatic win for Los Blancos

Real Madrid dug deep to claim a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga at the Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday.

Vinicius Junior put Madrid ahead in the 15th minute, curling an exquisite shot into the far corner to end his 13-game league goal drought.

The Brazilian spurned a chance to double Madrid’s lead moments later, failing to hit the target from a promising position.

The visitors began to show more attacking intent after the half-hour mark, but were unable to pose a real threat to Thibaut Courtois.

Brahim Diaz should have made it 2-0 before half-time, but he played an inaccurate pass to Kylian Mbappe.

Jorge de Frutos levelled the scores after the break, beating Aurelien Tchouameni to fire a brilliant finish into the net.

Federico Valverde combined with Tchouameni, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.

Pathe Ciss was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Dani Ceballos in the 80th minute, forcing the visitors to play the closing stages with ten men.

Madrid nearly capitalised on the numerical advantage, with Eduardo Camavinga’s header striking outside of the post.

Just when Vallecano thought they had done enough to secure a point, Diaz won a penalty deep into stoppage time. Mbappe stepped up to convert, sealing a dramatic 2-1 victory for Madrid.

The win takes Los Blancos to just one point behind leaders Barcelona, who won 3-1 at Elche on Saturday.