Real Madrid are sweating over the fitness of both Federico Valverde and Thibaut Courtois after a grueling trip to Rayo Vallecano’s home ground which has been swiftly dubbed the “Battle of Vallecas” by Spanish media.
Xabi Alonso’s table-topping visitors could find no way through the meaty rearguard of their hosts, settling for a 0–0 draw which saw them fail to score for the second match in succession following Tuesday night’s Champions League defeat to Liverpool.
Absurdly premature talk of crisis is already in the air in the Spanish capital and the mood won’t have been lifted by injuries to a pair of Alonso’s most trusted starters.
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For the second time this week, Valverde was forced off in obvious discomfort. “I don’t know if it was something muscular or some movement I made that hurt,” the battling Uruguayan told reporters after he limped off against Liverpool. Valverde was cleared to start this weekend yet once again wound up clutching his hamstring as he was replaced by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Federico Valverde clutching his hamstring.
Federico Valverde did not finish Sunday’s game. / Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Thibaut Courtois finished the match but did not come through the bruising experience unscathed. Madrid’s talismanic goalkeeper, whose eight saves against Liverpool singlehandedly helped his team avoid humiliation, suffered a “slight strain” in his right thigh, according to AS. The severity of this muscular issue has been played down, though it remains to be seen when the 33-year-old is risked again.
Madrid aren’t back in action until traveling to the home of an entertaining Elche side on Sunday, Nov. 23. Both Valverde and Courtois, however, have been called up by their national teams for this month’s set of fixtures, with extensive travel required for both.
Valverde’s Uruguay face a pair of friendlies against World Cup co-hosts Mexico and the U.S. on the other side of the Atlantic. Courtois will remain in Europe for Belgium’s World Cup qualifiers, but is staring down the barrel of a 5,600-mile round trip to Astana, Kazakhstan should he be selected.
International Details Federico Valverde Thibaut Courtois
Games 2 2
Opponents Mexico, U.S. Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Competition Friendly World Cup qualifier
Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid were frustrated all game long on Sunday afternoon. / Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images
“We were prepared for a demanding game,” Alonso grimly admitted after another set of dropped points for Real Madrid on a short trip to Vallecas. “Both this year and in previous years, it’s always been difficult for us to take the lead and have a good game because Rayo demand a lot from you.”
Madrid are winless in their previous four away matches against the high-pressing capital club, taking just three points from a possible 12. Eden Hazard was in the last squad to earn a win at Vallecas.
Despite the crumbling infrastructure surrounding them and an obdurate president who never passes up the opportunity to lash out at fans who give plenty back themselves, Rayo have somehow established themselves among the Spanish elite in recent years. At a club without a website to buy tickets, where fans have to physically queue around the block to get a seat, the demand is always high.
A style of play first instilled by current Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has been further enhanced by his former assistant Iñigo Pérez, who took this ramshackle institution into Europe. Even his winger Álvaro García admitted: “Sometimes you think: ‘How are we where we are with what we have?’”
Pérez was only appointed by Rayo after he failed to secure a visa to join Iraola on the south coast of England. Fittingly, his first game at the helm of Rayo was a 1–1 draw against Real Madrid at Vallecas. Even with resources which dwarf anything their city neighbours can dream of, Real still haven’t found a way to win at Vallecas.
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