Bruised Strasbourg leave Vallecas with Rayo Vallecano leading semi-final
Rayo Vallecano 1-0 RC StrasbourgRayo Vallecano hosted RC Strasbourg in their first ever European semi-final at Vallecas, and were victorious in the first leg. After a closely contested first half, Str...
Bruised Strasbourg leave Vallecas with Rayo Vallecano leading semi-final Rayo Vallecano 1-0 RC Strasbourg Rayo Vallecano hosted RC Strasbourg in their first ever European semi-final at Vallecas, and were victorious in the first leg. After a closely contested first half, Strasbourg were unable to live with the Rayo intensity, but live to fight in the second leg. Such was the festival atmosphere in Vallecas that you could be forgiven for forgetting that there was a football match on the big night in the barrio.
After a rousing reception, Strasbourg started the better, moving the ball with a smoothness that had to concern Inigo Perez. Bypassing the Rayo press, Julio Enciso was flitting in and out of the gaps, between the midfield and defence. He looked like the one to provide an opening, but several neat interventions from Florian Lejeune kept the French side at bay.
It wasn’t until the half-hour mark when Rayo truly settled. The first time they boxed Strasbourg in, Isi Palazon picked out Alemao at the back post, stretching, and just unable to get a clean header on the ball. That was the clearest opening though, and like Strasbourg, their efforts to work chances came to a swift end at the edge of the box.
It wasn’t just forward progress that was difficult, but comfortable possession that was hard to come by. As if to illustrate the nature of the slog, Pathe Ciss and Emanuel Emegha were engaged in a rumbling, permanent embrace, some of it friendly, other times foul. Inigo Perez would have been much more pleased with his side’s start to the second half.