On 15 September, one of the matches of the 5th round of the Spanish football championship took place. Rayo Vallecano (Spain) and Alaves (Spain) met.
Spanish Championship, 5th round
Rayo Vallecano (Spain) - Alaves (Spain) - 2:0 ( 1:0)
Goals: Isi Palason (43), J. de Frutos (82).
Warnings: Hernandez (19), R. Duarte (23), Alex Sola (41), R. de Tomas (90+5), I. Hagi (90+6). Hagi (90+6)
In a thrilling La Liga match, Rayo Vallecano claimed an emphatic 2-0 victory over Alaves at the Estadio de Vallecas. The 1-0 scoreline in favour of Rayo Vallecano at half-time was the basis for the home side's impressive play in the second half. The start of the match was very tense, with both teams keen to win. On 19 minutes, Rayo Vallecano player A. Hernandez received a yellow card for careless behaviour. Alaves player R. Duarte, who received a warning in the 23rd minute, was not far behind. The referee continued to hand out yellow cards: L. Garcia of Alaves and A. Sola received warnings in the 24th and 41st minutes respectively. Just before the break, Rayo Vallecano were awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute. I. Palason, coming on as a substitute, easily converted the penalty, making the score 1-0 in favour of the home team. In the second half, the teams made a flurry of substitutions in an attempt to change the course of the match. In the 64th minute, Alaves were replaced by J. Guridi instead of I. Haga and A. Sola instead of A. Rebbakh. Rayo Vallecano also made the first substitution: C. Perez replaced P. Cisse.
The substitutions gave the game a new energy and Rayo Vallecano started to dominate the game. In the 69th minute Alaves made two more substitutions: J. Lopez replaced R. Duarte and Samu replaced C. Garcia. In response, Rayo Vallecano made the second and third substitutions: I. Palazón was replaced by J. de Frutos, and S. Camello replaced R. de Tomas in the 77th minute. The decisive moment of the match came in the 82nd minute when J. de Frutos scored a magnificent goal, increasing Rayo Vallecano's lead to 2-0. In the 86th minute, Alaves made the last substitution: L. Rioja was replaced by J. Carricabura. Carricabura. Rayo Vallecano also made two late substitutions: U. Lopez came on instead of J. Carricabura. Lopez came on in place of Bebe in the 88th minute, and A. Garcia replaced O. Trejo in the same minute. As time ran out, tensions mounted and both teams received late yellow cards. In the 90th minute, R. de Tomas of Rayo Vallecano and I. Hagi of Alaves received a warning each from the referee. The final whistle confirmed a deserved 2-0 victory for Rayo Vallecano over Alaves. The home side showed a confident game in defence and attack. This victory will undoubtedly give confidence to Rayo Vallecano in continuing their campaign in La Liga.
The following matches await the opponents in the next round: Rayo Vallecano - Villarreal, Alaves - Athletic.
| Rayo Vallecano | Alaves | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Kicks to the goal | 1 |
| 20 | Kicks | 9 |
| 3 | Blocked shots | 3 |
| 13 | Penalty kicks | 7 |
| 7 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 2 |
| 14 | Offences | 13 |
| 5 | Corner | 3 |
| 0 | Offsides | 1 |
| 52% | Ball possession | 48% |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 1 | Keeper saves | 9 |
| 384 | Total assists | 349 |
| 284 | Accurate assists | 249 |
| 74% | Accuracy of passes | 71% |