Vinicius, Mbappe help Real Madrid past Rayo Vallecano
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior were both on target for Real Madrid as they beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1 on Sunday to pull level with La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Real Madrid rose one point above Atletico Madrid who suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to Getafe earlier, while Barca's match on Saturday against Osasuna was postponed because of the death of one of the Catalan club's doctors.
Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid produced a solid, if not spectacular, performance to get the better of their local rivals, ahead of the huge Champions League derby clash against Atletico beckoning on Wednesday.
"Vinicius and Mbappe scored two spectacular goals, and they had chances for the third," said Ancelotti.
"The first half was very good, when you get to the 70th, 75th minute with a 2-1 lead, you have to do one thing well, which is to defend it, so you don't have problems."
The Italian coach brought Jude Bellingham back into the starting line-up after suspension, but left Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rudiger out entirely because of a knee issue and illness respectively.
The duo are expected to return to face Atletico in the last 16 second leg, where they hold a 2-1 lead.
Rayo Vallecano, seventh, were without several key players, including Jorge de Frutos and Isi Palazon, but still gave a strong account of themselves.
Vinicius hit the post early on and Rayo threatened through Andrei Ratiu and Gerard Gumbau before Madrid took the lead.
French superstar Mbappe, who had failed to score in his two previous appearances, causing concern in the Spanish capital, received Vinicius' pass and took on Florian Lejeune before firing home.
Four minutes later Madrid doubled their advantage through Vinicius, who also fired blanks against Atletico in midweek. The winger produced two stepovers to keep Ratiu guessing before finishing lethally.
Mbappe should have netted the third or passed to the open Vinicius to score, but his shot was well saved by Augusto Batalla.
Rayo pulled back a goal in first-half stoppage time, with Diaz netting his first for the club from the edge of the box.
The midfielder's shot crashed beyond Lunin down off the crossbar, over the line, then back up against the bar and out, with the goal given after a VAR review.
Madrid threatened in the second half, with both Mbappe and Vinicius guilty of some dubious decision-making in the final third.
Ancelotti took off Rodrygo, Mbappe and Bellingham as Madrid banked only their second win from their last six league matches.
"I took minutes away from Mbappe and Rodrygo and that will suit them well for Wednesday," said Ancelotti.