Gifts Galore! Real Madrid Steamrolls Vallecano

Real Madrid win Matchday 4 of La Liga against Rayo Vallecano with a 4-1 scoreline.

The "Merengues" get off to a flying start. Following a through ball from Vinicius Jr., Carreras is clumsily brought down in the box by Lejeune. The Frenchman is otherwise known as a reliable mainstay for the "Franjirrojos".

Top star Mbappé confidently converts the resulting penalty to make it 1-0 (14'). Just three minutes later, Lejeune commits another terrible mispass. Vinicius is alert, the ball comes via Mbappé to Carreras who taps it in for 2-0 (17').

Overwhelming Dominance of the White Ballet

And only one team continued to play. Vini Jr. cuts in from the left flank and gets a free shot from 15 meters, but Audero in goal is alert.

Vinicius Jr. is constantly a source of danger for Vallecano. This was evident in the 35th minute when the Brazilian turned on the turbo at the halfway line, leaving Ratiu in his wake. He laid the ball back, where Bellingham arrived and calmly slotted it into the bottom left corner (35').

Shortly before halftime, Real upped the tempo again and Mbappé had another shot, but the Frenchman hit the post (45+1').

If Vallecano became dangerous, it was through long-range shots like Diaz's, which Courtois, however, was able to defuse (45+2').

Vallecano Start the Second Half Well

Shortly after the break, Diaz again threatened with a long-range shot. He slammed the ball against the post from 20 meters (47').

In the 51st minute, Vinicius Jr. made a catastrophic back-pass. Camello pounced on the ball and coolly placed it past Courtois to make it 3-1. It is already the striker's sixth goal in his fourth La Liga match this season.

Even after that, the visitors were the better team and had several chances to pull a goal back. Tsitaishvili narrowly missed twice (62'/63').

Mbappé Puts the Finishing Touch

Around the 80th minute, the hosts did create two more good chances. But Mbappé and Güler were denied by Audero. In stoppage time, the Frenchman struck again, completing his brace for a 4-1 scoreline (90+1').

This brings Mbappé's season tally to six goals, matching Camello and Raphinha.

Real Madrid thus remains second behind Barca. On Tuesday, they will face Elche.