Madrid drops points in derby thriller at Rayo
Real Madrid was forced to dig deep to take a point away from a titantic tussle with Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga, the breathless encounter ending 3-3 as Carlo Ancelotti's side missed the chance to go top with a win.
The hosts found themselves 2-0 to the good after 39 minutes thanks to precision headers from Unai Lopez and Abdul Mumin that beat Thibaut Courtois.
But the two sides were somehow level at the break after a piledriver from Federico Valverde and a Jude Bellingham header got Los Blancos back to parity.
Vallecano conceded little more than 10 minutes after the restart when Rodrygo fired a powerful effort towards goal, which was slightly deflected as it flew into the top corner, but the hosts did not fade.
Isi Palazon toe-poked a superb cross from the left past Courtois in the 64th minute to level the scores, and Courtois had to save again at the death when Florian Lejeune fired a superb free-kick on target. To the relief of Madrid, nobody in a Rayo shirt was able to follow-up and tap home the rebound as the final whistle went.
Madrid missed the chance to go top, a scenario victory would have granted, but it is a point closer to Barcelona ahead of its match against Leganes on Monday (AEDT).
It remains second on the table on 27 points, having now played as many games as Barca, which can can go four clear at the summit if it beats Leganes.
For Vallecano, the draw keeps it 13th on the table with 20 points.
Madrid will fly to Qatar to face Mexican side Pachuca in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Thursday (AEDT), with Kylian Mbappe possibly back in the selection picture.
Other positives for Ancelotti from the Vallecano drew were returns run outs for Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga, both of whom are coming back from injuries as well.
Ancelotti lamented his side's defensive errors after the atch but maintained his players' effort levels were worthy of praise.
"It was a complete game, which also included many errors, but I thought we didn't suffer as much as the final result would suggest," Ancelotti said.
"I was much more worried about those draws against Mallorca and Las Palmas... Now we have the attitude and commitment of last year and that is promising.
"I look ahead and I see a 2025 that is very positive, although I could be wrong. It's very good, with the players showing a lot of desire and enthusiasm.
"We're in the hunt for everything we're playing for. We're doing well, despite the many difficulties we've had due to injuries.
"Today we started without a lot of first-team players, up to seven. When they all come back, the team will be much better."
Defenders Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao will be sidelined for several months with anterior cruciate ligament tears suffered early in the season, while David Alaba is still to return from a similar injury, sustained last year.
Forward Mbappe, full-back Ferland Mendy and midfielder Camavinga all have short-term injuries.
Vinicius Junior, meanwhile, started on the bench at Rayo, with Ancelotti defending that decision as necessary to protect the Brazilian after he recovered from a muscle injury.
"He was coming back from injury and we wanted to be careful with him. I thought he played a good game," Ancelotti said.
"It was hard to see my players giving more than they gave today. I see a good future ahead.
"On Wednesday we have to win the Intercontinental Cup, that would be the icing on the cake."
