Spanish League: Real Madrid’s winning streak broken

The streak of victories for Real Madrid, the leader in the Spanish Football League, was halted after it tied 0-0 with host Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, giving its rival Barcelona the opportunity to reduce the gap with it to three points in the twelfth stage.
Real Madrid had returned from Liverpool with a loss to the English team 0-1 in the fourth round of the Champions League, then fell into the draw trap for the first time after four victories in the league, including over Barcelona in particular, which kept it away from the Catalan team by six points, before the latter faced its host Celta Vigo later.
The Royal Team raised its score to 31 points in first place, five points behind Villarreal II, who won over Espanyol on Saturday, while Vallecano collected its 15 points in twelfth place temporarily.
However, Real coach Xabi Alonso considered, “There is still a long way to go. We are in November, and we have to be strict with ourselves, but at the same time balanced.”
He added, “I want to continue to grow and improve, with positive and constructive self-criticism. This is Real Madrid, and we all know where we are and what we want.”
Rayo Vallecano confirmed that it is a difficult obstacle for the capital club to overcome, after they were forced to draw for the fourth time in the last five matches, especially in their small stadium, where Real did not win in the last four visits, specifically since February 2022.
The danger was as expected for the visitors, who had several opportunities to advance the score, most notably with a close shot from Brazilian Vinicius Junior that was blocked by Argentine goalkeeper Augusto Pattaya (23), and a second from Raul Asensio with a header that passed to the left side of the goal post (24).
The hosts tried to surprise the visitors, but Jorge de Frutos missed the opportunity to score from inside the penalty area (51).
Frenchman Kylian Mbappé responded with a beautiful shot close to the left post (60), then with a shot from outside the area via Uruguayan Federico Valverde that was blocked by Pattaya (69).
Alonso gave English full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who returned from injury, a chance for the second match in a row after he included him in the last seven minutes, after ten, against his former club, Liverpool.
However, the inclusion of the player absent from his country’s national team roster in the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, instead of Valverde, did not change the offensive form of the royal team, which settled for a draw before a second match away from home against Elche.
Athletic Bilbao regained its balance and defeated its guest, Real Oviedo, with a clean goal, in the first confrontation between the two teams in nearly 25 years.
The Basque team achieved its first victory after three losses 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 Spanish Cup competition, while the last meeting in the league dates back to 2001, in the last season that Real Oviedo played before it rose again at the end of last season.
Bilbao has risen to seventh place temporarily, before a difficult match outside its stadium against Barcelona next week.
On the other hand, Oviedo’s difficulties increased as it remained at the bottom of the standings with eight points, even though only one point separated it from the safety zone.