Real Madrid might have conceded early and had a man sent off, but that didn't keep them from putting Rayo Vallecano to the sword, as Los Blancos managed to score six goals in an entertaining 6-2 win. Madrid were up 3-2 when Angel di Maria picked up a second yellow card in the second half, but they kept attacking and looked incredibly impressive in the final 30 minutes, adding three goals in a convincing victory.
Real Madrid Vs. Rayo Vallecano Live, 2011 La Liga: Full Time, Lethal Merengues Score Six
Michu stunned the crowd by scoring after 15 seconds for Rayo, then his team continued to stun the crowd by outplaying their opponents for the first half hour of the first half. In the 29th minute, Jose Mourinho made a drastic change and decided to bring on Mesut Özil, who started over Kaka, for defensive midfielder Lassana Diarra. The move would pay off.
Real created two goals before the end of the half to go into the locker room with a 2-1 lead. The first was a great finish on the counter by Cristiano Ronaldo, assisted by Kaka, and the second was scored in first half stoppage time by Gonzalo Higuain, assisted by a Raul Albiol header and assisted by a Xabi Alonso free kick.
Madrid quickly solidified their lead in the 51st minute when Kaka drew a penalty, which was converted by Ronaldo. However, things turned badly against them shortly afterwards. Michu completed a brace with a 55th minute goal. Iker Casillas got his hand to the ball and pushed it out of the goal, but the ball had crossed the line before he got to it. Less than a minute later, di Maria picked up a second yellow card and was sent off. Just like that, Madrid went from firmly in control to only one goal up with ten men.
Incredibly, Madrid would not struggle at all, but actually improve from this point forward. Raphael Varane scored with a header on a corner kick in the 67th minute, Karim Benzema scored a goal on a great assist by Özil in the 73rd minute, and Ronaldo completed a hat trick when he drew, then converted a penalty in the 84th. At least until the result of Madrid's mid-week Champions League fixture is known, talk of a crisis should settle down at the Bernabeu.
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