Rayo Vallecano edged Celta Vigo on the penultima matchday of the Spanish La Liga. The Madrid side’s first-half high press and sustained pressure in possession allowed them to take a lead into the break. The hosts defended deeper and made quick transitions into attack in the first half and pegged the visitors back in the […]
Rayo Vallecano secured the spoils after a hard-fought LaLiga win over neighbours Getafe. The hosts’ quick offensive transitions saw them create numerous chances, while Getafe’s zonal overloading enabled direct forward moves that might have yielded a different result on another day. Tactical analysis and match report by David Pugh. Both teams entered this Madrid derby […]
With a minimum effort, Real Madrid regained the second place in the League table. After going drought for two games, Kylian Mbappé returned to put his name in the scoresheet, whereas Vinícius Júnior impersonated Leonardo da Vinci, drawing his Mona Lisa with his feet to double up the score. Nevertheless, Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior’s lack […]
Iñigo Pérez keeps proving that he is no slouch of a manager. However, his game plan hit a snag after Jorge de Frutos was sent off due to violent conduct. The numerical minus didn’t drive Rayo Vallecano to surrender. Nonetheless, Ayoze Pérez capitalized on that, scoring from a corner kick, securing the three points for […]
Swift diagonal combinations were Barcelona’s go-to patterns to progress and set runners free behind Rayo Vallecano’s block, but efficiency was lacking. Lewandowski scored from a penalty kick after Iñigo Martínez was fouled inside the box. After that, the visitors stood toe-to-toe, exploiting the Catalans’ offside trap and bypassing their high press. Amid that, Pedri was […]
Despite four of Barcelona’s summer signings making appearances against Rayo Vallecano, Xavi’s side could only take a single point from the match after a defensive masterclass from Andoni Iraola’s men. The play from Barcelona was promising, but the Catalans could not find the back of the net from their abundance of chances. Tactical analysis and […]
Real Madrid struggled to break down one of the worst defenses in the league before Benzema took over and led a brief renaissance. Half-time killed the momentum, allowing Rayo to grow back into the game and force Courtois to save the result at the death. Tactical analysis and match report by Om Arvind. Now that […]