25th May 2023 – (Madrid) Real Madrid secured a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano in a La Liga match at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday night. While winger Vinicius Jr was in attendance, he did not participate in the match. The Spanish Football Federation Disciplinary Committee had overturned his red card from a previous match due to the racist abuse he endured. The crowd at the Bernabeu honoured Vinicius with a round of applause in the 20th minute, shortly before Karim Benzema netted a remarkable goal in the 30th minute, assisted by Fede Valverde. Despite Rayo having opportunities to equalise before Raul de Tomas seemed to have secured a point in the 83rd minute, Rodrygo netted a last-minute goal for Madrid. The win propels Real Madrid back to second place in the La Liga table after Atletico Madrid squandered a 3-0 lead and ended in a 3-3 draw with Espanyol.
Atletico Madrid appeared to be cruising after Saul Niguez, Antoine Griezmann, and Yannick Carrasco scored before halftime. However, Espanyol rallied with three second-half goals from Cesar Montes, a 75th-minute penalty from Joselu, and a 79th-minute strike from Vinicius Souza.
Therelegation battle also intensified as Getafe claimed a surprising 1-0 win at Betis, leaving seven teams battling relegation with only two games remaining.
In another match, Villarreal swiftly dispatched Cadiz with a 2-0 win, with Nicolas Jackson netting two remarkable goals. The win leaves Cadiz with significant work to stave off relegation, while Real Sociedad needs another victory to guarantee they finish fourth this season and secure a spot in the Champions League.
Sevilla’s hopes of securing seventh place took a hit when they drew 1-1 at Elche, playing with one less player for over 70 minutes after Pape Gueye’s rash challenge on Lucas Boye. Tete Morente quickly equalised for Elche in the 25th minute.