Rayo Vallecano have their first home win of the season after a resilient and spirited performance at home to in-form Eibar.
Michel's Rayo came into this clash winless in 10 La Liga matches, 19th in the table, and with the worst defensive record in the division. Before the clash their popular coach - who was a legendary player at the club - said his players needed to deliver their best performance of the season and have greater focus on their defensive game, playing as a more compact unit. His players responded well.
Michel's Rayo came into this clash winless in 10 La Liga matches, 19th in the table, and with the worst defensive record in the division. Before the clash their popular coach - who was a legendary player at the club - said his players needed to deliver their best performance of the season and have greater focus on their defensive game, playing as a more compact unit. His players responded well.
Eibar arrived at Vallecas fresh after crushing European champions Real Madrid 3-0 the week before. Coach Jose Luis Mendilibar made one change to the XI of that triumph - playing midfielder Pape Diop (back from suspension) in place of striker Kike Garcia.
Rayo's formation was a 4-1-4-1 with Santi Comesana between the defense and the midfield. Alvaro Garcia was rewarded for two goals in his last three appearances with a start on the left - he did interchange flanks with Adri Embarba in each half. Emiliano Velazquez made his first start of the season at right back, in place of suspended Luis Advincula.
Eibar played a 4-2-3-1. The back five was unchanged. Gonzalo Escalante and Pape Diop were the two midfield pivots. Joan Jordan played as an advanced midfielder. Marc Cucurella and Fabian Orellana gave attacking width with Sergi Enrich up front.
Eibar were superior in the first half and almost broke the deadlock through a Jordan header after 24 minutes. Most of their other chances went wide or were easily saved by Stole Dimitrievski. Cote and Cucurella were delivering plenty of crosses. Jordan was influencing the game heavily. Diop looked strong in his defensive midfield role. It felt as if Rayo were happy to sit really deep, focus on keeping a clean sheet, and hope to try and steal a goal without risking too much.
However, after half time they did play more assertively. They pushed higher up the pitch and pressed Eibar much more quickly. As a result they improved greatly and Adri Embarba volleyed against the post on 49 minutes.
Then, four minutes later Rayo went in front after a delightful team move. Left back Alex Moreno exchanged passes with Alvaro before dribbling into the box, and crossing low from the left for winger Adri Embarba, who got in front of Ivan Ramis and expertly guided his finish beyond Asier Riesgo with his left instep. It was a gorgeous goal, his second of the season, and a wonderful way to mark his 150th appearance for the club.
Rayo had their tails up. The crowd got louder and louder and Raul de Tomas had a couple of half chances to double the lead.
Michel sent on Gorka Elustondo for Giannelli Imbula but the Basque midfielder got injured swiftly and was himself replaced by Jose Angel Pozo.
Mendilibar sent on Kike Garcia for Jordan - a striker for a midfielder, and went to 4-4-2.
Rayo's Uruguayan right back Velazquez was sensational from start to finish - he didn't put a foot wrong and made a fabulous intervention to deflect Kike's dangerous cross with 16 minutes left.
Eibar pushed for their equaliser and Michel responded with a defensive change - bringing on right back Tito for striker de Tomas. 11 minutes remained and Rayo were now pretty much playing with no striker but Oscar Trejo advancing slightly from central midfield. They basically had no outlet and Eibar were able to attack almost relentlessly for the final minutes but they never found a way through - Dimitrievski made some more simple saves from the likes of Kike and Ramis, and held on for his maiden La Liga clean sheet (fourth appearance).
The victory for Rayo puts them on 10 points but they remain 19th. The improved defensive solidity will be a big source of encouragement for Michel, especially after the performance at Valencia the week before. Embarba admitted after the game that they'd spent most of the week working on defence.
Eibar had lost just once in six games ahead of kick off . After this defeat they've won just one of their seven way games, losing four. They remain 10th but four different teams could overtake them during the what remains of Week 14.
Images from Euskal Irrati Telebista and Marca
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