Kylian Mbappé emerged as the hero by scoring a penalty during injury time, leading Real Madrid to a narrow 2-1 home win over Rayo Vallecano and securing vital three points to narrow the gap to league leaders Barcelona to just one point.
On 1 Feb 2026 GMT+7, in the Spanish La Liga clash, Real Madrid hosted Rayo Vallecano at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, finishing with a tense 2-1 victory for the home side thanks to Kylian Mbappé’s injury-time winning goal.
Before the match, Real Madrid was desperate for three points after recently suffering a 2-4 away loss to Benfica in the UEFA Champions League, forcing them into the playoff round. In La Liga, the 'Los Blancos' sat second with 51 points, trailing Barcelona by 4 points but having played one fewer game.
However, Real Madrid had to compete without several key players, including Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Ferland Mendy.
Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano was in poor form, having lost three consecutive matches and dropping to 16th place with only 22 points, just one point above the relegation zone. They were missing only defender Abdul Moumin, aged 27, for this game.
The game started with Real Madrid taking the lead in the 15th minute when Vinícius Júnior used his speed to break through Rayo’s defense and skillfully scored past the goalkeeper. The first half ended with this 1-0 scoreline.
In the second half, Rayo Vallecano fought back and equalized in the 49th minute through Jorge de Frutos, who shot past Thibaut Courtois to make it 1-1.
The match became an exciting back-and-forth battle. In the 69th minute, Mbappé nearly became the hero, breaking free and beating the goalkeeper, but his shot unfortunately hit the post.
A crucial turning point came in the 80th minute when Rayo Vallecano was reduced to 10 men after a harsh tackle on Dani Ceballos.
During 9 minutes of injury time, drama unfolded at the 90+10 minute mark when Real Madrid was awarded a penalty. Kylian Mbappé confidently converted the spot-kick, sending the ball into the net to give his team a 2-1 lead.
The match ended with Real Madrid narrowly defeating Rayo Vallecano 2-1, earning an important three points to reach 54 points, just one behind league leaders Barcelona, keeping them firmly in the La Liga title race.