Rayo bring Madrid back to ground

Madrid, November 8

A “bad night” by Real Madrid cost their unbeaten streak, their perfect away record and the Spanish league lead.

Madrid were far from their best in falling at Rayo Vallecano 3-2 on Monday, losing for the first time in the league and seeing their six-match winning run on the road come to an end. The setback dropped Carlo Ancelotti’s team to two points behind Barcelona.

“It was a bad night,” Ancelotti said. “We didn’t play a good match.”

It was only Madrid’s second defeat in all competitions, after a loss at Leipzig in the group stage of the Champions League last month. Madrid won 15 of their first 19 games this season, with three draws. “It hurts to lose but when you evaluate the first part of the season, we did well,” Ancelotti said. — AP