Real Madrid 10-2 Rayo Vallecano : Five talking points

Real Madrid were at their cohesive best, thrashing Rayo Vallecano 10-2Real Madrid battered 9-man Rayo Vallecano from pillar to post as the hosts mercilessly plundered their city rivals with 10 goals in one of the most bizarre evenings ever in the Spanish La Liga.Blancos fullback Danilo put the home side ahead just 4 minutes into the game, but the visitors fought back valiantly and stunned the home crowd with 2 goals in 2 minutes to take an unlikely 2-1 lead at the Bernabeu. Their celebrations were cut short, however, as Tito was shown a straight red for a horrendous tackle on Toni Kroos, and just 10 minutes later, were reduced to 9-men when Raul Baena was sent off for a second booking.Thereafter, all hell broke loose on the minnows.The stellar BBC attacking triad struck a total of 9 times – four for Bale, three for Benzema, and another two for Ronaldo, as Los Blancos touched double figures in La Liga for the first time since 1962.Here are some of the talking points from the carnage in the Spanish capital.

#1 A victory not worth celebrating

Real’s celebrations were perfunctory

Normally, a victory of this scale sets the celebratory bells ringing widly across town. It bolsters a team’s confidence and gives them the zest to perform in the same vein. However, absurdly, nothing as such happened here though.

The goal celebrations were faint, whilst Real’s eccentric supporters refused to make merry of the goal-fest. Real Madrid were expected to sneak through this despite falling behind, the two red cards dished out to their guests made their task all the more easy.

While Tito was rightly given the marching orders for his rash tackle on Kroos, Raul Baena’s dismissal was rather undeserved. The Rayo midfielder was shown a second yellow for shoving Ramos during a set-piece situation, but it was a terrible decision from the match official.

Los Blancos ran riot after that decision, rippling the net like there’s no tomorrow. But despite having a 2-man advantage, the hosts were given some scares in the second half when Los Vallecanos tried to pull back another goal or two, thereby testifying the commendable fighting spirit they showed for all the drubbing.

Going by the margin, it may have been a colossal victory for Real Madrid, but it was hardly worth celebrating.

#2 Rayo shouldn\'t be disappointed

Rayo shocked the Bernabeu by going ahead

Rayo Vallecano weren’t expected to take anything from this game, but the fight they put up deserves a doffing of our hats. The Red Sashes sent shivers down the Bernabeu when they struck twice within a space of two minutes to take a surprise 2-1 lead, and despite going 2-men down, did not abandon hope and pushed the hosts till the end.

They were already dealt with a massive blow when Tito sent off for an early bath due to his reckless challenge on Kroos, but the misery was only to be compounded when Baena joined him in the dressing room shortly after. In the second case though, it was a silly blunder by the referee and that spelt the end of the game for Rayo.

When Real Madrid were busy pounding a flurry of goals in the final 45 minutes, the men from Vallecas tried to burst the party with their high pressing, narrowly missing out on another couple of goals.

The final outcome of the game had surely dampened the mood around Rayo Vallecano, but in all honesty, for all their courage and spirit, they shouldn’t be too disappointed.

#3 Bale enjoys a rare treat in front of goal

Bale was magnificent, scoring a perfect hat-trick among his four goals

The world’s most expensive player Gareth Bale hasn’t particularly been in his element since his heroics in the Decima winning season. Injuries have reduced his playing time and the goals have visibly dried up. The Welshman drew relentless flak from the media and from the impatient Madrid fans, specially, so a night like this where he bagged four came as a breather for the under-fire winger.

After the first red card, Los Blancos quickly levelled the matters through the 25-year old, before Bale got his second of the evening shortly before the break. The former Tottenham Hotspur man then got his first hat-trick in two years and only the second one in Blancos colours, when he tapped home an easy finish off Ronaldo’s cross in the second half, and got a fourth, for the first time in his career, nutmegging substitute Quini.

Whilst Bale has been criticised for going missing against bigger sides, his four goal haul last night is going to do little to prove that wrong. But nonetheless, he showed how effective he can be from the centre, and quenched his thirst for goals, albiet upto a wee extent.

#4 Ramos remains a pale shadow of himself

Sergio Ramos was easily troubled by Rayo’s attack

Real Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos put on another stinker of a display, highlighting his disappointing season. The Spaniard has repeatedly appeared as though he has his head in the clouds, with his mistakes coming back to bite his team as they would be left hopelessly exposed at the back.

Ramos was more like it in this outing as well. He, as well as Pepe, were easily beaten for the two Rayo goals, and the former’s adventures in the final third allowed the visitors to create problems depite the numerical disadvantage.

Although he tried to weigh in with goals of his own during the set-pieces, leaping dangerously in the air to try and head the ball home, it’s his putrid defensive duties that is the cause of concern these days. Ramos is simply not into his element, and must recapture his old self to bring back a sense of doggedness to Real’s backline, and do justice to the faith the club showed in him by extending his contract recently.

#5 Real Madrid fans still not pleased

Benitez needs more nights like this to satisfy Madrid’s demanding fans

The fact that the hosts were booed off the pitch at half-time despite leading 4-2 speaks volumes about the fans’ displeasure. The two dismissals meant that Los Blancos were in for a promenade, but their performance was certainly not convincing enough and the fans were the first ones to reflect that.

Real Madrid fans thronging the Santiago Bernabeu have earned a reputation for being one of the most notorious and impatient, as they’ve often jeered their own players at even a hint of dissatisfaction from their performance. In this game though, they had every right to hurl the brickbats at their players, who are having a turbulent season under Benitez.

The manager hasn’t quite won over the supporters ever since he arrived to the Spanish capital, and will continue to be whistled by them if the team doesn’t perform up to the mark. That just puts more pressure on the already maligned Spanish head-honcho.