Eliminated from the Champions League by Manchester City, already qualified for the next one, Real Madrid finished the season freewheeling and at their own pace. Beaten last weekend at Valencia (1-0), Karim Benzema’s teammates were not far from dropping points again at the Bernabeu at the very end of the match.
However, Madrid, deprived of Vinicius Jr. injured but supported by the public and his teammates, led for a long time thanks to a goal from Karim Benzema (31st). The French international, after a quick in-between with Toni Kroos, took advantage of a stint with Federico Valverde to deceive Stole Dimitrievski. The eighteenth goal of the season in La Liga from the French international was long enough for the men of Carlo Ancelotti who had decided to place Eduardo Camavinga as a sentry and to shift Antonio Rüdiger to the left side.
Rodrygo pays tribute to Vinicius
But, at the very end of the game, Rayo Vallecano took advantage of a wavering in the Madrid defense (the Frenchman Aurélien Tchouaméni had just replaced Rüdiger) to equalize on a strike from Raul De Tomas (84th). Real could then regret the missed opportunities of Rodrygo just before half-time and Daniel Carvajal on a subtle outside of the right of Luka Modric (56th) until the Brazilian, in the last minute of additional time, did not double putting in a well-placed shot.