Costly Error Denies Rayo Vallecano Victory Against Alavés

Rayo Vallecano and Alavés played out a 1-1 draw at "Butarque" in the opening match of La Liga's second round.

The Madrid side thought they had taken the lead in the 35th minute when Pelayo Fernández found the net, but after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed for handball. However, the hosts eventually did break the deadlock in the 48th minute. Sergio Camello drove into the penalty area and fired a low shot past the keeper. The Basque team, however, equalized in the 84th minute following a costly error from Andrei Rațiu. The right-back attempted to pass the ball back to his goalkeeper from midfield, but substitute Mariano Díaz intercepted the pass and immediately slotted the ball past Daniel Cárdenas, who had come off the bench. In the remaining minutes, the visitors even had chances to complete a comeback, but Toni Martínez missed a good opportunity, and a shot from Mariano was saved.

Alavés remains undefeated after their 3-0 victory over Getafe, while Rayo Vallecano has now failed to win a second consecutive match following their 2-1 loss to Sevilla.