Real Madrid's winning streak in the Spanish football league came to a halt on Sunday after a goalless draw with host Rayo Vallecano. This gave their rival, Barcelona, the opportunity to reduce the gap to three points in the twelfth stage. Real Madrid had returned from Liverpool with a 0-1 loss to the English team in the fourth round of the Champions League, then fell into the trap of a draw for the first time after four league victories, including one against Barcelona itself, which had put them six points behind the Catalan team before the latter's later match against host Celta Vigo. The Royal team raised its total to 31 points in first place, five points ahead of Villarreal, who won against Espanyol on Saturday, while Vallecano collected its 15th point in twelfth place for the time being. Nevertheless, Real Madrid coach Shabi Alonso considered that 'the road is still long. This is Real Madrid, and we all know where we are and what we want.' Rayo Vallecano confirmed that it is an obstacle difficult to overcome for the capital club, having forced it to a draw for the fourth time in the last five matches, especially on its small ground where Real had not won in its last four visits, specifically since February 2022. The danger, as expected, came from the guests, who had several opportunities to take the lead, the most prominent of which was a close shot by Brazilian Vinicius Junior, which was saved by Argentine goalkeeper Augusto Bataya (23), and a second by Raul Asensio with a header that went past the left post of the goal (24). The home team tried to surprise the visitors but Jorge de Frutos wasted a scoring chance from inside the penalty area (51). The Frenchman Kylian Mbappe responded with a beautiful shot near the left post (60), then with a shot from outside the area by Uruguayan Federico Valverde, which Bataya pushed away (69). Alonso gave the English right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, returning from injury, a chance to play a second consecutive match after including him in the last seven minutes, after ten against his former club Liverpool. But the entry of the player, who was absent from his country's national team in the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup instead of Valverde, did not change the Royal team's attacking style, which contented itself with a draw before a second away match against Elche. Athletic Bilbao regained its balance and defeated its visitor Real Oviedo 1-0, in the first encounter between the two teams in about 25 years. The Basque team achieved its first victory after three defeats in various competitions, thanks to the goal scored by international striker Nico Williams in the 25th minute. The last official match between the two teams was in December 2011 in the Copa del Rey, while the last league encounter dates back to 2001, in the last season that Real Oviedo played before its promotion again at the end of last season. Bilbao rose to seventh place temporarily, before a difficult away match against Barcelona next week. In contrast, Oviedo's difficulties increased by remaining at the bottom of the table with eight points, knowing that it is only one point away from the safe zone.
