Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano 2-1: La Liga – as it happened

Mbappe converted a stoppage-time penalty, and Vinicius scored a first-half strike as Madrid edged past Rayo to stay in touch with Barcelona in the title race.

Thank you for joining our live coverage of this La Liga clash and until next time, it’s goodbye from all of us at Al Jazeera Sport.

Kylian Mbappe stayed calm to roll home a 100th-minute penalty and grab Real Madrid a 2-1 win over nine-man Rayo Vallecano in a spicy La Liga derby.

Los Blancos cut Barcelona’s lead back to one point at the top of the table on Sunday a day after after the Spanish champions beat Elche.

Read Al Jazeera’s full match report here.

12 – Kylian Mbappé has scored 12 penalties this season in all competitions. The last LaLiga player to score more penalties in a single season was Cristiano Ronaldo, also with Real Madrid, in 2014/15 (13). Heir. pic.twitter.com/seorOi0bni

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 1, 2026

A penalty from Kylian Mbappe in the 10th minute of stoppage time earned Real Madrid a ⁠hard-fought 2-1 victory over local rivals Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Sunday.

Vinicius Jr opened the scoring in the 16th minute, curling a ⁠shot into the top corner. However, Rayo equalised shortly after half-time through Jorge de Frutos, who fired home from a headed assist by Alvaro Garcia ‌in the 49th minute.

Rayo were reduced to 10 men after Pathe Ciss saw ‌red for a reckless tackle on Dani ‌Ceballos. The match ⁠seemed destined for a draw before Nobel Mendy’s clumsy challenge on Brahim Diaz ‌handed the locals a lifeline deep into stoppage time, with Mbappe converting the spot kick.

Pakistan’s cricket team has been cleared to participate in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, but will not play its game against India, the government of Pakistan said in a statement.

“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026, however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India,” the statement said on Sunday.

Read our news report here.

Madrid were criticised by fans and experts alike after they lost 4-2 at Benfica midweek in the Champions League, failing to finish in the top eight and slipping into the playoffs.

They moved on swiftly from that disappointment, beating Rayo Vallecano 2-1 to stay alive in the La Liga title race. However, their fans would still be worrying about the team’s drop in form, as they had to rely on a last-minute penalty to grab a win against the lowly Rayo.

After 22 matches, Barcelona lead the standings with 55 points.

Madrid are second with 54, while Atletico are third on 45, Villarreal fourth on 42, though they have a game in hand.

A penalty kick by Mbappe in the 10th minute of stoppage time hands Madrid a nervy 2-1 win over lowly Rayo Vallecano, who ended the game with nine players.

Madrid remain a point behind their rivals and league leaders, Barcelona.

Vinicius opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a brilliant solo goal before de Frutos bagged the equaliser in the 49th, finishing off a splendid team move.

Late drama decided the contest, as Mendy’s clumsy challenge got him a red card and handed Madrid a penalty, which Mbappe successfully converted.

Rayo down to nine players!

Chavarria, who was on a yellow card, gets a second and is sent off for pushing Rodrygo while he was collecting the ball on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, we are well beyond the nine minutes of added time initially introduced.

90+12 mins: Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano

Unlike his usual spot kicks, Mbappe opts to go to the left, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and handing Madrid the all-important goal in stoppage time.

After not being very impactful for much of the contest, the Frenchman bags what will almost certainly be the winning goal!

90+10 mins: Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano

Late drama at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium!

Rodrygo has the ball, though it is surely Mbappe who will take the kick.

90+9 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Late drama! Mendy misses the ball completely during his clearance, bringing down Diaz in the process.

Rayo players mob the referee, but he signals straight to the spot!

90+8 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

A great chance for Madrid goes to waste as Rodrygo, placed on the left side of the box, shoots straight at the goalkeeper at the near post, from about 10 yards.

That was Madrid’s 15th shot of the match and only the fourth on target.

90+5 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Ratiu has gone down to the floor with a cramp. Madrid’s players and fans aren’t liking this, as the clock is ticking away. Six minutes of added time left.

90+3 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

A super lengthy period of added time.

Madrid fans burst into a huge round of applause for the generous time awarded.

Can their team find a stoppage-time winning goal?

90+2 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Batalla dives to his right side to keep out a shot from Diaz.

The home side have registered a whopping 14 shots, many of those coming in the second half. However, only three were on target.

90 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Lejuene tackles Mbappe from behind, making some contact at the ankle, resulting in the Frenchman going down acrobatically in the box. But the referee concludes it isn’t a foul.

Madrid fans jeer the referee for the decision.

87 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Camavinga’s glancing header off Ceballos’s chipped delivery hits the far post!

Ceballos has made an impact since coming off the bench. Can he guide them to a late winner? Only about five minutes are remaining.

85 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Ceballos shrugs off the pain of the reckless Ciss challenge and fires a thunderbolt from outside the box. However, it goes wide of the far corner!

Meanwhile, Rayo make more changes in the wake of Ciss’s red card, bringing on Felipe for Isi and Martin for Akhomach.

Akhomach and Vinicius were both booked for shoving each other during an argument, shortly before the Rayo player went off.

84 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Rayo are down to 10 players, as Ciss is shown a straight red card.

Replays showed he caught Ceballos’s left ankle with his studs, a dangerous challenge that was indisputably a sending off.

81 mins: Real Madrid 1-1 Rayo Vallecano