Mbappe to rescue

madrid: A penalty from Kylian Mbappe in the 10th minute of stoppage time earned Real Madrid a hard-fought 2-1 victory over local rivals Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga on Sunday.

Vinicius Jr opened the scoring in the 16th minute, curling a shot into the top corner.

However, Rayo equalised shortly after halftime through Jorge de Frutos, who fired home from a headed assist by Alvaro Garcia in the 49th minute.

Rayo were reduced to 10 men after Pathe Ciss saw red for a reckless tackle on Dani Ceballos. The match seemed destined for a draw before Nobel Mendy’s clumsy challenge on Brahim Diaz handed the locals a lifeline deep into stoppage time, with Mbappe converting the spot kick.

Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal put on another show as he scored Barcelona’s opener and tormented defenders all game long to spearhead the La Liga leaders to a 3-1 win at Elche.

Yamal on Saturday scored in the sixth minute and passed for Marcus Rashford to put the victory beyond doubt late in the second half. Elche pulled level briefly in the first half before Ferran Torres re-established a 2-1 advantage just before halftime at Martínez Valero Stadium.

Their goals let Barcelona open a four-point gap over second-placed Real Madrid before it hosts Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

It was a third game in a row that Yamal has scored for Barcelona. The 18-year-old Spain star also found the net in a 3-0 win over Real Oviedo last weekend and in a 4-1 victory over Copenhagen on Wednesday to propel his team into the Champions League

Round of 16.