Unknown
This season has seen a Madrid superior to the current one. Also an infinitely better Ray, but both continue to exceed expectations and the circumstances that have surrounded them. Today they are seen in Vallecaswhere Madrid has lost only five times in 45 years, including, curiously, the first (1977) and the last (2019)but almost never before a version as offensive as the one now offered by the fringe team (follow the match live on As.com).
Everything in the Ray is difficult to explain. The team rose and has transited with ease in First in the midst of an extreme divorce between the public and the fans, with some planting in the stands. He signed a lot in summer and winter, but in his gala eleven, which he will be able to exhibit today, there are nine footballers who were in the Second Division last year. A rookie in the category, Iraola, who gave much thought to the renewal after being promoted to the team, has not paid for the hazing. Also some of the statistical features of it are unexpected. It is the third team that shoots the most (twelve times per match), the second that sends the most crosses into the area and the one that suffers the most fouls (15.6 per match).
The data reveals the style. It’s a excessively perimeter equipment, with two very deep players on the wings. On the right, a left-hander, Isi, the one that causes the most fouls in LaLiga. On the left, Álvaro García, a bullet, in the top 10 footballers with the highest top speed in the championship. Still today it is the most expensive signing in the history of the club (4.5 million). Utrerano, Quique Pina discovered him in San Fernando and took him to the Granada subsidiary. They didn’t take advantage of it. He ended up as a substitute in a Cádiz of Segunda B until it exploded. He has already scored more goals (6) than in any other season at Rayo.
Trejo, the rudder
The other great lever of the team is Trejo, a jewel of Boca that has not played anywhere like Rayo. Loaned by Mallorca, who signed him when he was only 18 years old, he scored 10 goals as a redhead eleven years ago and was decisive for promotion that season. He returned in 2017 and is now the team’s flag and the second assistant in the championship after Benzema.
Falcao rehearses the shot on goal in the presence of Comesaña.
Rayovallecano.es
Today he will be the helm of a gala Rayo that offers doubts at both ends of the field. Luca Zidane was the goalkeeper against Elche and could repeat before Dimitrievski’s unexpected slump. And up, Falcao could be the reference forward. His return to the League shocked. He scored in his first three games, but then suffered several injuries. On November 6, he scored his last goal, at the Bernabéu. To Madrid, which one day was crazy to sign him, he has scored three goals in five games that did not help his teams to score. The Tiger is asleep in the year of the tiger.
Almost as a gala, Madrid will also appear, which only announces two casualties: Alaba and Bale. The Austrian had physical problems and, with PSG on the horizon and Mendy suspended for that game, he is the first alternative as a left back. Ancelotti will not risk with him and will put Nacho, one of the few trusted substitutes for him. The other absence is insignificant. Bale suffers his 32nd injury and will not be. Nor did anyone count on him. The rest will be the still photo of the Italian coach, who wants to get PSG out of the conversation for a week. “Before that we have two finals,” he said yesterday.
Vinicius, against Marcelo, in a Madrid training session.
Realmadrid.com
The Cup weighs down the Lightning
Rayo is the most extreme example of the championship: they are the third best team at home and the worst, along with Alavés, away. After an explosive start, which took him to fourth place, he went through a rough patch. It is the worst of 2022, in which he has added one point out of a possible 18 and has scored two goals in six games. Chain four consecutive league defeats. Iraola warned in times of plenty. Teams of their size grow or shrink depending on their rivals on the calendar. And in the case of Lightning, The Cup has put a lot of strain on the legs of footballers who are not used to playing two games a week. On Thursday awaits him the historic opportunity to get into the final, although will visit Betis at a disadvantage (1-2).
Madrid has also faltered in 2022, with defeats in Getafe and Paris, but has recovered Asensio for the cause, with decisive goals against Granada and Alavés. The white trident already has 50 goals, half of them from Benzema. The Frenchman has played ten games against Rayo, has won them all and has scored nine goals. The shooting is served.