Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 9:24 PM• Last update: 21:28

Real Madrid is back in second place in LaLiga, at least for a while. Carlo Ancelotti’s side battled on Wednesday, on a night that was also marked by support for Vinícius Júnior, thanks to a late goal from Rodrygo to win 2-1 over Rayo Vallecano. Sevilla did not get past Elche (1-1) and therefore no longer has the best papers for a European ticket. Villarreal, the number five in LaLiga, did what it had to do against Cádiz (2-0 win) and retains the chance of a Champions League ticket.

Real Madrid – Rayo Vallecano
Vinícius Júnior, who fell victim to racism against Valencia, saw his red card dismissed. The Brazilian, who received prior support from his teammates, was unable to play due to an injury and was replaced at the front left by Rodrygo. Rayo still had the prospect of a Conference League ticket with a win in the Santiago Bernabéu and started brutally. Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved on shots from Óscar Valentín, Unai López and Isi Palazón.

Rodrygoooo! ???????? The Brazilian is again important for the Madrilenians and seems to decide the match: 2-1?? This couldn’t go more wrong for Madrid you would say.. ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #RealMadridRayo pic.twitter.com/rRKyggEexT

— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) May 24, 2023

An excellent combination with Federico Valverde set Karim Benzema free for Stole Dimitrievski after half an hour. Benzema outplayed the goalkeeper and tapped in from a difficult angle: 1-0. After the break, the Madrilenians were stronger, but a decisive goal was not forthcoming. Rayo struck almost out of nowhere in minute 84. Raúl de Tomás surprised Courtois from within the box with a low shot into the short corner: 1-1. Real Madrid reopened the hunt and succeeded one minute from time. Rodrygo dribbled in from the left and placed the ball from seventeen meters in the bottom corner in a very controlled way: 2-1.

Elche – Seville 1-1
Less than a week ago, José Luis Mendilibar was entitled to call himself a ‘savior’. The Sevilla coach had 1) guided his team from the relegation zone to the mid-table 2) reached the final of the Europa League and 3) was the best performing LaLiga coach with nineteen points from eight matches since he took over at the end of March. Even European football therefore seemed feasible, but then Wednesday had to be won at the gate closer Elche.

Sevilla started well at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero. After ten minutes, Pape Gueye set up a combination, which ended up with Erik Lamela via Youssef En-Nesyri. The Argentinian took well and left Elche keeper Edgar Badia without a chance with a low slider: 0-1. There was no problem for Sevilla, until Gueye disadvantaged his team. The mercenary from Marseille went into his opponent with a straight leg and was immediately red: his third since January. Shortly afterwards, Elche equalized. Josan passed the ball at random and saw Tete Morente take care of the final score with his shoulder and some fortune. Karim Rekik was in the starting line-up for Sevilla and played the entire match.

Villarreal – Cadiz 2-0
Cadiz came very close to the opening goal in the twentieth minute, but Sergio Guardiola just couldn’t reach the ball to head in. In the counter-punch, Villarreal finished it off inexorably. Nicolás Jackson took off after a long ball, outplayed the far-reaching goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma and also slalomed past some defenders on the goal line: 1-0. Just before half-time, a goal by Villarreal midfielder Manu Trigueros was disallowed for a foul in the run-up. In stoppage time of the first half, Jackson intercepted a too short back pass, after which the striker made it 2-0.