Real Madrid edge past Rayo Vallecano; PSG, Inter Milan win

Mbappe's late penalty helps Real Madrid edge Rayo Vallecano

A penalty from Kylian Mbappe in the 10th minute of stoppage time rescued Real Madrid on Sunday, giving them an agonising 2-1 victory over local rivals Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga and keeping Los Blancos within one point of leaders Barcelona.

Mbappe held his nerve to slot into the bottom left corner after Brahim Diaz was clumsily brought down in the box by Nobel Mendy deep into added time, calming down a furious Santiago Bernabeu crowd who were heavily booing their team's underwhelming performance.

A feisty encounter saw Rayo finish the match with nine men, after Pathe Ciss was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on Dani Ceballos in the 80th minute and Pep Chavarria was sent off for a second booking in the dying moments.

"Winning always brings happiness. The energy changes quite a bit," Real captain Federico Valverde told DAZN, referring to the importance of recovering from the humbling midweek loss to Benfica in the Champions League.

"The most important thing is to improve, grow as a team and try to be calmer. We can't always be waiting for our opponents to make mistakes. We must improve in attack and score more goals."

Despite their victory, Real Madrid faced a setback early in the match when Jude Bellingham limped off in tears with a suspected hamstring injury. The 22-year-old Englishman pulled up awkwardly while chasing a long ball and had to be substituted after just nine minutes.

Vinicius Jr opened the scoring for Real Madrid in the 16th minute with a piece of individual brilliance.

The Brazilian winger stormed down the left flank, effortlessly gliding past defender Andrei Ratiu before curling a stunning shot over Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla, the ball clipping the underside of the crossbar on its way in.

Rayo hit back in the 49th minute when Alvaro Garcia rose inside the box to head a lofted ball from Gerard Gumbau into the centre, where Jorge de Frutos reacted sharply to send a first-time strike past Thibaut Courtois.

The equaliser ignited the home crowd, whose frustration grew as Madrid struggled to regain the lead, with loud boos resonating around the stadium.

Real Madrid had numerous opportunities to restore their advantage but were repeatedly let down by poor finishing.

Vinicius wasted a close-range header from an Arda Guler free kick in the 58th minute, while Mbappe missed an excellent chance in the 68th, striking the crossbar with the goal at his mercy after rounding Batalla.

Eduardo Camavinga came agonisingly close to finding the winner in the 85th minute, his header from inside the box rattling the post.

Despite Madrid's wastefulness, their persistence was eventually rewarded in the 100th minute when Diaz was fouled inside the penalty area by Mendy.

Mbappe, taking responsibility, drilled his spot kick low into the bottom corner, sparking wild celebrations from his team mates and providing relief for the frustrated home fans.

PSG score late winner as they go back to top of Ligue 1

Ten-man Paris Saint-Germain scored a late winner to claim a 2-1 victory at Racing Strasbourg on Sunday and return to the summit of Ligue 1.

Nuno Mendes secured three vital points in the 81st minute, six minutes after the champions had been reduced to 10 men with the dismissal of right back Achraf Hakimi.

Senny Mayulu had put PSG ahead in the 22nd minute, one minute after Strasbourg’s Joaquin Panichelli saw his penalty saved by Matvey Safonov.

But the home side took only five minutes to equalise through Guela Doue, whose younger brother, France international Desire, came on at halftime for the visitors.

PSG played the last 15 minutes down to 10 men after Hakimi was sent off for a studs high challenge on Panichelli. The African Footballer of the Year was initially cautioned but that was changed from yellow to red after a VAR review.

Hakimi’s sending-off meant Warren Zaire-Emery had to move back to cover at right back and it was from his run down the flank and subsequent cross that Mendes headed home with nine minutes remaining as he stole in unmarked from the left.

The victory sees PSG move up to 48 points, two ahead of second placed Racing Lens while Strasbourg remained in seventh spot on 30 points at the end of a lively encounter at Stade de la Meinau.

Strasbourg won their penalty after a VAR review for a handball from Marquinhos as he blocked a shot from Abdoul Ouattara.

But Safonov saved for a fifth time this season, from seven spot kicks faced, enhancing his reputation as a penalty save specialist.

A blunder by home captain Mamadou Sarr then allow Mayulu to score but a quick counter had the Alsace side level as Ben Chilwell sped down the left wing and Doue slid home the ball with some precision as he sprinted to make a connection with the pass.

Hakimi’s dismissal, which means he misses next Sunday’s meeting with Olympique de Marseille, offered Strasbourg the opportunity to take charge in the final stages and they will be disappointed with their poor defending as Mendes snatched the three points.

Inter Milan extend Serie A lead after win at Cremonese

Inter Milan moved eight points clear at the top of Serie A after a comfortable 2-0 victory over hosts Cremonese on Sunday, but the victory was marred by a flare thrown on to the pitch from the away end that narrowly missed home goalkeeper Emil Audero.

The win takes Inter to 55 points from 23 games, eight ahead of city rivals AC Milan, who have a game in hand. Cremonese lie in 16th with 23 points from the same number of games.

Lautaro Martinez and Piotr Zielinski scored first-half goals as the visitors took control of the contest and despite not finding the back of the net again, they never looked unduly troubled by their hosts.

"There's a long way to go," Martinez told DAZN. "We made mistakes, especially in the first half, but there's also a lot to enjoy because the championship is very balanced."

Early in the second half a flare was thrown from the stands and landed near Audero, who dropped to the floor but did not appear to be injured. The match continued following a short delay.

"These things must not happen, there's a risk to a person," Martinez said. "We're putting on a show that can be seen all over the world. I apologise to Audero and all the Cremonese fans."

Inter have won 10 of their last 11 Serie A games since losing to AC Milan in November, their only blemish in that run a 2-2 home draw with Napoli.

By contrast, Cremonese are winless in eight, with five defeats in that sequence, which leaves them six points above the relegation zone.

The visitors might have won by a greater margin given their dominance of possession and chances, but did more than enough to secure another three points.

Inter hit the front on 16 minutes thanks to a header from Martinez, who steered Federico Dimarco’s corner into the net. It was just reward for a bright start.

Cremonese had an excellent chance to equalise when Jamie Vardy was sent through on goal. However, a heavy touch allowed Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer to get to the ball ahead of him.

Instead it was Inter who scored next as Zielinski, who has a reputation for spectacular goals, unleashed a thunderbolt of a strike from 30 metres on 31 minutes.

The ball swerved past Audero, who will feel he should have made the save, but the power and the movement through the air left him floundering.