Bale helps Real Madrid overcome early scare to down Rayo
BARCELONA, Spain -- Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid won on Saturday to keep the pressure on title rival Barcelona as the Spanish league reaches its climax.
While Madrid needed Gareth Bale to score twice to overcome a two-goal deficit and win 3-2 at crosstown rival Rayo Vallecano, Atletico ground out a 1-0 victory over Malaga after coach Diego Simeone was sent off at halftime.
Defending champion Barcelona, which holds tiebreakers over both challengers, trailed Atletico by two points and Madrid by one before hosting Sporting Gijon late.
Already without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid lost Karim Benzema near the end of the first half, three days before its Champions League semifinal first leg at Manchester City.
Rayo stunned Madrid by leading 2-0 by the 14th minute, thanks to goals by Adrian Embarba and Ladislao "Miku" Fedor.
Bale pulled one back before Benzema went off with a leg injury and was replaced by Lucas Vazquez, who came through with a headed goal in the 52nd.
Just when Madrid's rally was sputtering, Bale intercepted a pass and raced forward to score the 81st-minute winner.
"Bale was phenomenal," Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said. "We remained patient and knew that we had the players with the talent to make the difference. We started poorly, but finished strong."
Thrilled with his team's comeback, Zidane was also concerned about Benzema.
"We will have to see if (Benzema) can play at City," he said. "It is a blow."
While Madrid looks to England, Atletico will focus on Bayern Munich's visit in the other Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.
Atletico was unfazed by Simeone being banished to watch the second half from the stands after he was sent off as a punishment for a ball being thrown onto the pitch by Atletico's dugout.
Malaga defended well until substitute Angel Correa went on and five minutes later struck a long ball that took a deflection to bend around goalie Guillermo Ochoa for the 62nd-minute winner.
"It was a very hard match, but we are happy to get another win," Correa said.
With only three more matches after this round, Madrid could not have gotten off to a worst start.
Always attacking, no matter how intimidating the opponent may be, Rayo went at Madrid from the whistle.
Winger Bebe provided a constant threat throughout the first half, and he produced the first goal when he dribbled at Pepe and slipped the ball across for Embarba to sweep past Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Rayo's fans burst into wild celebrations as the rain came down on Vallecas Stadium, and the team responded by pressing for another goal which came when Miku fired in after a corner kick that Madrid failed to clear.
Until then, the only threat from Madrid had been Bale's shot off the post. But the Welshman boosted his team when he rose up to head in a corner.
Madrid's attack took another injury blow when Benzema asked to be substituted, apparently because of pain in his right leg.
But Vazquez rose to the occasion in place of Benzema, fending off a defender as he jumped to head Danilo's cross into the corner of the net.
The aggressive style preached by Rayo coach Paco Jemez built the two-goal lead but it backfired when Bale pounced on Embarba's risky pass.
Bale used his speed to race into the area before shooting under goalkeeper Juan Carlos Martin for his 18th league goal of the season that kept Madrid in the title hunt.
"Bale is a spectacular player and today he showed it by scoring the decisive goal," Vazquez said. "We now can turn to the Champions League with a lot of confidence."
