Despite the importance of this evening’s second leg, Carlo Ancelotti named a strong team at the weekend as Real Madrid hosted Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
And it paid off as the Spanish and European champions won 2-1.
The likes of David Alaba, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Luka Modric were given starts, with the fearsome front four of Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe playing from the off too.
Mbappe and Vinicius Jr netted within five minutes of each other, and though Pedro Diaz halved the deficit in first-half stoppage time, Real Madrid held on.
They only had 45 per cent possession to Rayo’s 55, with the impressive visitors recording double the number of shots (20 to 10) and more shots on target, six to five, but ending up on the losing side.
The result saw Ancelotti and Co move level on points with leaders Barcelona, albeit having played one game more.
Both are one point ahead of Atletico Madrid in third.
GO FURTHER
Real Madrid 2 Rayo Vallecano 1: Mbappe and Vinicius Jr find some bite, Tchouameni makes an impression
