Camello unleashes madness in Vallecas and Espanyol is still winless in 2026

Rayo took a very important step towards staying in the First Division this Thursday after beating Espanyol in Vallecas, a team that hasn’t won in 2026 and has now gone 15 games without picking up three points. Camello’s first league goal this season and Daniel Cárdenas’s penalty save from Kike García give life to a Rayo team that is nearing salvation and still maintains the dream of conquering the Conference League.

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RAYRayo

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Dani Cárdenas, Pep Chavarría, Jozhua Vertrouwd (Abdul Mumin, min. 80), Pathé Ciss, Andrei Ratiu, Pedro Díaz (Sergio Camello, min. 80), Isi Palazón, Pacha Espino (Ilias Akhomach, min. 57), Jorge de Frutos, Óscar Valentín (Unai López, min. 75) y Alemão (Gerard Gumbau, min. 75)

ESPEspanyol

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Marko Dmitrovic, Fernando Calero (Clemens Riedel, min. 77), Leandro Cabrera, Omar El Hilali, Carlos Romero, Pere Milla (Miguel Rubio, min. 90), Tyrhys Dolan (Cyril Ngonge, min. 77), Edu Expósito, Pol Lozano (Charles Pickel, min. 45), Kike García y Roberto Fernández (Ramon Terrats, min. 66)

Goals 1-0 min. 86: Camello

Referee Adrián Cordero Vega

Yellow cards Pere Milla (min. 1), Pol Lozano (min. 18), Augusto Batalla (min. 34), Pathé Ciss (min. 49), Cabrera (min. 74), Cyril Ngonge (min. 82)

Forced by absences, Íñigo Pérez had to make several changes to the starting eleven for a crucial match in their fight for salvation. With Luiz Felipe and Álvaro García injured and Lejeune suspended, the coach moved Pathé Ciss to the center-back position alongside an inexperienced player with few minutes, Vertrouwd. Espanyol wanted to take advantage of this inexperience in the rival defense with a veteran striker like Kike García.

The first few minutes belonged to Manolo González’s men, who came close to the first goal with a powerful volley into the top corner from Edu Expósito that Daniel Cárdenas —starting tonight to rest Batalla— cleared for a corner. But that blue-and-white control gradually faded due to the great work of the double pivot formed by Pedro Díaz and Óscar Valentín.

The match became rough, full of inaccuracies and with very little continuity due to constant interruptions. But after half an hour, Rayo stepped up to take control of the game. Isi, the captain, was the one leading the charge, drifting towards the left wing where Pacha Espino struggled to make inroads in such an unusual position for him. The Murcian shot up to five times from the edge of the area against a well-organized Espanyol defense. However, whether due to inaccuracy or a slip, Isi failed to hit the target.

Manolo González decided to substitute Pol Lozano at halftime, bringing on Pickel to change the face of a team that couldn’t reach the opponent’s area. After a slight delay for the second half to start because one of the goals in Vallecas had a hole in the net that Rayo’s goalkeeper Cárdenas himself had to fix, the referee blew the whistle for the start. And it was Rayo again who took the initiative with a point-blank header from Isi that Dmitrovic cleared off the line just as the crowd rose to celebrate the goal. Then Alemao also had a header, and again the Serbian goalkeeper cleared it off the line with his foot.

Espanyol gradually began to attack, and in a play where Kike García shot inside the area, the ball hit Óscar Valentín’s arm, and the referee awarded a penalty. The striker himself took the spot-kick, shooting powerfully to his left, but Cárdenas guessed the right side and saved Rayo from conceding a goal with 15 minutes left in the match.

Rayo took a step back after the penalty scare, and Espanyol smelled fear. From a corner kick by Ngonge, Luis Milla headed the ball alone at the far post, just a few meters from the goal, but sent it wide.

The fear of losing seemed to grip both teams, but then Rayo’s goal came to unleash madness in Vallecas. On a counter-attack led by Ilias Akohmach, the ball reached Camello, the striker got rid of El Hilali with a self-pass, and in a one-on-one against Dmitrovic, he beat the Serbian goalkeeper with a shot between his legs.

Rayo draws level with Espanyol on 38 points, looks ahead to the match against Real Sociedad, also at home, and moves closer to salvation with the European dream still alive. Manolo González’s team, who continue without a win in 2026, still haven’t secured their permanence and next Monday host an in-form Levante looking for salvation.

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Classification

Classification	PT	GP	W	D	L
9 ATH	41	32	12	5	15
10 OSA	39	32	10	9	13
11 RAY	38	32	9	11	12
12 ESP	38	32	10	8	14
13 GIR	38	32	9	11	12

Classification	PT	GP	W	D	L
10 OSA	39	32	10	9	13
11 RAY	38	32	9	11	12
12 ESP	38	32	10	8	14
13 GIR	38	32	9	11	12
14 VAL	36	32	9	9	14