Rayo Vallecano vs Espanyol — La Liga: stats, lineups & analysis
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- 3′Rayo Vallecano, goal:1–0assist
- 26′Rayo Vallecano, goal:2–0assist
- 45+2′Rayo Vallecano, yellow card:Foul
- Half-time2 – 0
- 46′Espanyol, substitution:off
- 46′Espanyol, substitution:off
- 46′Espanyol, substitution:off
- 54′Espanyol, goal:2–1assist
- 61′Rayo Vallecano, substitution:off
- 61′Rayo Vallecano, substitution:off
- 63′Espanyol, yellow card:Foul
- 67′Rayo Vallecano, yellow card:Foul
- 70′Rayo Vallecano, yellow card:Argument
- 74′Espanyol, substitution:off
- 76′Rayo Vallecano, substitution:off
- 76′Rayo Vallecano, substitution:off
- 80′Rayo Vallecano, yellow card:Foul
- 84′Espanyol, substitution:off
- 84′Rayo Vallecano, substitution:off
- 90+1′Rayo Vallecano, yellow card:Foul
- 90+8′Espanyol, red card:Professional handball
- Full-time2 – 1
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Rayo Vallecano
Espanyol
Match report
Rayo find relief at Butarque as Espanyol lose momentum
Rayo Vallecano answered their 4-1 defeat at Real Madrid with a 2-1 win over Espanyol, drawing level with their opponents on seven points. With this home game taking place at Butarque rather than Vallecas, the result gives Beñat San José's side something firmer to build on after three defeats in their opening five league matches.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data and the sources linked below.
Álvaro García made the difference in the attacking moments that mattered, scoring and then supplying Adrià Pedrosa for a two-goal lead. Espanyol's improvement after the break, including Roberto Fernández's reply, made the win more demanding than that advantage suggested. Omar El Hilali's red card came late, with the visitors already behind. Beñat San José linked the drop in Rayo's pressing to fatigue after the Madrid game.
For Espanyol, this interrupts the momentum of their 2-0 win at Osasuna. Their coach took responsibility for a poor first half and insisted the three players replaced at the interval should not carry the blame alone. He welcomed the improvement after the break, but called for self-criticism before facing Elche. That leaves Espanyol with a clear task: making their stronger spells last beyond one half.
Report sources
Rayo Vallecano beat Espanyol 2–1 (half-time 2–0).
Rayo Vallecano met Espanyol in the La Liga (Regular Season - 6). Kick-off was Tuesday, 15 September 2026, 17:00 UTC at Estadio Municipal de Butarque. Referee: Isidro Diaz de Mera Escuderos.
Team pages: Rayo Vallecano · Espanyol · La Liga
Key moments
- 3' Goal: Álvaro García (assist: Pedro Díaz) — 1–0
- 26' Goal: Adrià Pedrosa (assist: Álvaro García) — 2–0
- 54' Goal: Roberto Fernández (assist: Javi Hernández) — 2–1
- 90+8' Red card: Omar El Hilali
Starting line-ups
Rayo Vallecano (4-2-3-1)
Espanyol (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Rayo Vallecano 46%, the draw 28%, Espanyol 26%. It finished Rayo Vallecano 2–1 Espanyol.
Level sides, home ground swings it, even this early in the season — Nothing separates them on our strength rating, and La Liga home advantage gives Rayo Vallecano the lean. The draw at 28% is lifted by the early-season fade in home wins.
Why Rayo Vallecano in front?
Home ground, mostly. Almost nothing between them on our strength rating — 1776 to 1767. Sides this close won 45.6% of 14,648 home games (draw 26.5%, visitors 27.9%). La Liga home sides out-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to away wins (28.3% vs 30.2%). La Liga homes won 46.6% of 6,131 games vs 44.9% across all 100,217 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly.
Why only 46%?
Because on our strength rating there is nothing in it. Both sides are inside their first six league games — home wins land softer this early in the season, so this trims Rayo Vallecano's column. Across 11,163 opening-stretch games since 2010, home sides won 42.7% where the rating map expected 44.9%, with draws up 2.0 — negative in every season since 2018.
Why is the draw second, ahead of the Espanyol win?
Between sides this level the draw starts at 26.5%. These teams' recent games average 2.9 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 24.6% of 25,094. Early-season fixtures add 2.0 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Rayo Vallecano are unbeaten in their last 11 home La Liga games: 6 wins and 5 draws. The run began on 15 February 2026. Last recorded home league defeat: 24 January 2026 — Rayo Vallecano 1–3 Osasuna. Latest home league result: 5 September 2026 — Rayo Vallecano 3–2 Racing Santander. Across 13,620 historical matches following an unbeaten home league run of at least six games, hosts won 56.3%, compared with 54.5% expected from team strength. Espanyol have rebuilt the eleven — fewer of last season's regular starters are still starting. Squad turnover reads dramatic but hasn't moved results once the rating is controlled: the busiest windows landed within noise across 5,368 games, rebuilt elevens likewise across 5,446, and even losing the most regular starters showed nothing (5,336). The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Rayo Vallecano vs Espanyol final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this La Liga fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Rayo Vallecano 2–1 Espanyol. Explore more on the Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol team pages or the La Liga page.