Rayo Went Down to Nine Men, and Real Madrid Absolutely Punished Them With Goals (FT 10-2)

It got nasty out in Santiago Bernabéu today. La Liga is already a lopsided, cruel oligarchy, comprised of two (maybe three, if the winds are right that particular season) superpowers that reign over the mere vassals who dare play in the same league. And now the Fates have cut a sharper edge into tragedy by whittling away Rayo Vallecano to nine men against (actual monarchy) Real Madrid. Oof.

After miraculously going up 2-1 against Madrid in the 12th minute, Rayo Vallecano laid a frost over Bernabéu's fans.

But then a red card was administered to Rayo for a particularly nasty slide tackle on Toni Kroos after 15 minutes, knocking them down to 10 players. nd predictable as clockwork, Real Madrid, with their lineup made of fantasies—specifically Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema—came back to equalize at 2-2 with Gareth Bale meeting a perfect cross for a header.

Then came a second yellow card for Rayo's Raúl Baena, knocking the second-fiddle Madrid team down to a mere nine players. A penalty kick from Ronaldo was just the salt and lime in the wound. But what came next was disgusting. Real Madrid cracked open their lead with yet another Bale goal.

And then came another one and another one and another one and another one and another one and another one. Dios mio, things got brutal out there. To the point that we can't really fit all the goals on this page without it looking gaudy. Here's a sampler of the brutal paella that Real Madrid served up.

Benzema with a laser on the back doorstep:

Bale's fourth goal (yes, fourth) on the day was just a dirty, shaming nutmeg:

And why not give Benzema a hat trick on the day? Surely he deserves it, no?

According to a fact-finding Twitter account by the name of @MisterChiping, this is the first time since 1960 that anyone in La Liga has scored 10+ goals in a game. Nope—not even the great Spanish oligarchical league has seen goal inequality like this before. All hail the king.