Madrid Dominates Rayo Vallecano 4-1 to Regain Momentum

Madrid hit the accelerator again.

Stung by that shock defeat to Real Betis, they tore into Rayo Vallecano on Saturday night, easing to a 4-1 win that restores order to their La Liga start: four victories from five games, and the familiar sight of the Bernabéu – or at least their home – as a fortress.

Kylian Mbappé set the tone. He opened the scoring from the penalty spot, calm and ruthless, then turned provider within minutes, sliding a pass for Álvaro Carreras to finish and double the lead. Rayo were rocked. Madrid were cruising.

The third arrived with a move that has already become a trademark. Vinícius Jr darted down the flank, cut the ball back with precision, and Jude Bellingham arrived to sweep it home. Three goals, three different scorers, and a scoreline that reflected the gulf in class.

Rayo did briefly disturb the script after the break. Sergio Camello pounced to pull one back and inject a hint of tension into the evening, just as Madrid’s legs began to feel the weight of a brutal early-season schedule and midweek Champions League minutes.

But the contest never really slipped from their grasp. Deep into stoppage time, Mbappé appeared again, finishing clinically to kill off any remaining doubt and stretch Los Blancos’ unbeaten home run against Rayo to 17 matches, a sequence that stretches all the way back to 1996.

Mourinho delighted with goals, wary of fatigue

Jose Mourinho saw exactly what he expected from his forwards – and exactly what he feared from his players’ legs.

“We score a lot of goals, but we also miss a lot of chances,” the Madrid head coach said, as quoted by MadridXtra. “I told my staff that one day there will be a team that will pay for all these missed chances (laughs). There will be a match where we score seven goals.”

The start was ferocious. The drop-off, just as obvious.

“We played for 45 minutes and then it was over,” Mourinho admitted. “I knew the players were tired and couldn't play another half like that. Look at how Bellingham played the final ten minutes, with no energy.”

Even so, the damage was done long before fatigue crept in. Madrid’s first-half cutting edge left Rayo chasing shadows and Mourinho with another three points on the board, even if the physical toll is already starting to show.

Mbappé equals Benzema, Bernardo grows in stature

Mbappé’s late strike did more than just pad the scoreline. It carried him into the club’s recent history, matching Karim Benzema’s 2021-22 mark of six goals in the opening five league games. Different eras, same ruthless output.

While the Frenchman grabs the headlines, another summer arrival is quietly stitching himself into the fabric of this team.

Bernardo Silva, signed as one of the marquee additions of the window, is beginning to look like the metronome Mourinho wanted. He doesn’t just keep the ball; he shapes the rhythm, deciding when Madrid slow the game down and when they slice through lines.

Reflecting on his adaptation, the Portuguese midfielder laid out his brief.

“We are happy with the three points, but now we need to get ready for the next game,” he said. “What Jose Mourinho asks of me? To help in the build-up with the ball. He wants me to give the team more fluidity so we can progress the ball. I'm trying to adapt and to give the best version of myself.”

If this is only the early version of Bernardo in Madrid colours, and an already prolific Mbappé is still warming up, the question isn’t whether this team will explode in front of goal one night.

It’s who will be unlucky enough to be on the other side when Mourinho finally gets that seven.