Real Madrid’s quest for the La Liga title hit a snag as they were held to a goalless draw in a local derby against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, following their recent Clasico victory.

Despite dominating the match and creating multiple opportunities, Los Blancos couldn’t conjure their trademark last-minute winner.

Real Madrid, who currently sit in the second position in the La Liga standings, now find themselves two points adrift of the unexpected league leaders, Girona, who came from behind to defeat Osasuna.

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Meanwhile, Barcelona remains just two points behind Real Madrid after a fortunate win against Real Sociedad on Saturday.

In this crucial fixture, Madrid’s manager Carlo Ancelotti made some key lineup changes, including the introduction of the energetic Eduardo Camavinga to replace the injured holding midfielder, Aurelien Tchouameni, and opting for Luka Modric in place of Toni Kroos.

Right from the outset, Real Madrid took the initiative in the match, pressuring their local rivals, with Rayo Vallecano’s Macedonian goalkeeper, Stole Dimitrievski, being kept busy throughout.

He made a remarkable save to deny Fede Valverde, who broke through on goal early in the game after Rayo’s defensive error.

Madrid had a brief moment of concern when Jude Bellingham, the league’s top scorer with 10 goals, went down with an injury, clutching his left shoulder.

The English international quickly recovered and continued playing.

Striker Joselu, on loan from Espanyol, narrowly missed the target with a header from Luka Modric’s corner, while Fran Garcia came close to scoring after a well-worked play by Bellingham to set him up.

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Dimitrievski made another exceptional save to thwart Joselu, with Vinicius Junior providing the assist.

The Brazilian winger became increasingly involved in the game and managed to find the net in the 66th minute, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call against Joselu.

As the game approached its final stages, substitute Rodrygo Goes sent a cross-shot just wide, and the frustration mounted for Vinicius and the entire Real Madrid team in the face of Rayo’s resilient defense.

Rayo Vallecano made late substitutions, introducing Radamel Falcao and Bebe in the hope of securing a last-minute victory.

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However, Bellingham, who had been a match-winner in previous matches for Madrid, couldn’t replicate his heroic performances from last weekend when he scored a brace against Barcelona.

In the dying moments of the match, Rodrygo came closest to breaking the deadlock with a backheeled effort, but Dimitrievski collected the ball confidently, ensuring the derby ended in a hard-fought draw.