Atletico Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano: Depay bags stoppage time winner as Los Colchoneros battle past visitors

In the recent La Liga clash, Atletico de Madrid secured a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano, thanks to a decisive goal from Memphis Depay in the dying moments of the game. This win marks the 10th time that Los Colchoneros have emerged triumphant against Los Franjirrojos in their last 11 encounters.

Many of the initial exchanges were played at a slow pace, with Rayo often adopting a defensive approach to limit their opponents. They had a small opportunity when Alvaro Garcia was passed the ball, but his attempt was not convincing and deflected behind by Axel Witsel.

Atleti's first notable chance came after 20 minutes, with Memphis attempting a creative shot that went harmlessly over the crossbar.

This seemed to inspire Diego Simeone's team to show more attacking intent. Angel Correa was released behind Rayo's defense and had his shot saved by Stole Dimitrievski, and then had a goal disallowed for offside.

The breakthrough eventually came when Reinildo Mandava rose above two Rayo defenders to meet Rodrigo Riquelme's free-kick and score his first-ever goal for the club.

However, the hosts' lead only lasted for seven minutes as Garcia received a pass from Pep Chavarría and scored a precise strike that Jan Oblak couldn't reach.

Diego Simeone made a substitution at halftime, bringing on debutant Arthur Vermeeren for Nahuel Molina, and the substitute immediately showed a willingness to make runs behind the defense.

Even with the substitution, the manager was not satisfied and made three more changes before the hour mark. He would have been concerned when García had a clear chance shortly after, but the forward's attempted chip was easily caught by Oblak. Antoine Griezmann also failed to test the opposition goalkeeper as his shot hit the side netting.

After having a goal disallowed, Memphis eventually capitalized on a pass from Griezmann to score his fifth goal in as many matches, sending the Estadio Metropolitano into celebration as Atleti secured their fifth consecutive victory in all competitions.

Rayo, on the other hand, witnessed Francisco Rodríguez being sent off in the aftermath and have suffered defeats in three out of their previous four competitive matches.