Benzema struck inside the 83rd minute, his twenty ninth purpose of the season sufficient to seal a scrappy victory at Vallecas however one that could put Madrid almost out of sight if Sevilla fail to conquer nearby rivals Real Betis on Sunday. Betis sit down third and had been in outstanding form in current weeks. For an eighth match in a row, Madrid did not score within the first half and this became their 5th sport out of the final six that has seen them not able to attain greater than once.
Their loss of punch ought to prove complicated against extra trying out combatants, with a Champions League 2nd leg against Paris Saint-Germain and then the second La Liga Clasico of the season in opposition to Barcelona each coming near subsequent month. A extremely good begin to the campaign had Rayo within the hunt for the European locations some weeks ago but 4 consecutive defeats had seen them drop to twelfth earlier than kick-off. They pushed Madrid difficult here however have been made to pay for a lack of ruthlessness inside the very last 0.33, with Benzema and Vinicius Junior's nice now not for the first time proving decisive.
Marco Asensio and Benzema both had early possibilities but Rayo were the better crew in the first half of, drawing Madrid into a scrap and harrying them into mistakes. Casemiro became particularly out of sorts however thought he had given Madrid the lead, banging a bouncing ball into the net after prevailing an aeriel duel with Alejandro Catena. The purpose became ruled out, though for offside. In any case, it became also handball and probably a bad on Catena.
Both teams had probabilities early in the 2d 1/2. Vinicius Junior's finish from six yards had to be blocked earlier than Thibaut Courtois did brilliantly to deny Mario Suarez from heading Rayo in front. But Rayo tired and Madrid grew to become the screw within the last 20 mins with Luka Modric curling towards the crossbar, although Rayo had the excellent threat, Oscar Trejo after which Alvaro both thwarted by means of Courtois after Madrid failed to clear.
The omit proved steeply-priced due to the fact moments later, Benzema was celebrating in the corner. He began the move, threading Vinicius through in the box before continuing his run. Vinicius may want to have shot however tapped it to his left, giving Benzema an open internet.
