Unconvincing Real Madrid survived a huge scare at rock bottom Rayo Vallecano when they conceded two quickfire second-half penalties but held on under severe pressure to secure a nervy 3-2 victory in La Liga on Saturday. The world's richest club by income, who play at Italian champions Juventus in Europe on Tuesday, were flying when a Cristiano Ronaldo double and a goal from Karim Benzema put them 3-0 ahead shortly after halftime.
However, Carlo Ancelotti's expensively-assembled side were unable to control the match against their lowly city rivals and were left reeling when Jonathan Viera struck twice from the spot in three minutes after clumsy fouls by Pepe and Marcelo.
A valiant Rayo, whose squad is worth less than a tenth of their illustrious neighbours' and whose fans unfurled a gigantic banner reading "Proud to be Poor" before kickoff, came close to equalising several times. Real goalkeeper Diego Lopez saved his team with a host of fine saves and tipped an Alberto Bueno shot on to the post in the 65th minute.
Unbeaten champions Barcelona are top with 34 points from 12 matches after their 1-0 win at home to Espanyol in Friday's Catalan derby, with Atletico on 30 and Real on 28. "The second half was a disaster," Ancelotti said at his post-match news conference.
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