Real Madrid missed the chance to beat Barcelona at the top of LaLiga as they played out an enthralling 3-3 draw with lowly local rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Playing their final home game before heading to Qatar to face Mexican side Pachuca in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, Madrid were made to pay for a series of defensive errors at the Estadio de Vallecas.
Rayo stunned Los Blancos by opening a two-goal lead inside 36 minutes, with Unai Lopez opening the scoring with a header in the fourth minute before Abdul Mumin nodded in their second from an Isi Palazon corner.
However, a thunderous long-range strike from Federico Valverde gave Carlo Ancelotti's men a lifeline within another three minutes, before Jude Bellingham drew them level with a first finish just before half-time.
Rodrygo put Madrid ahead for the first time with a deflected strike from the edge of the penalty area 11 minutes into the second period, but there was still one final twist to come.
Palazon added a goal to his earlier assist, coming between Antonio Rudiger and Aurelien Tchouameni to deflect a cross into the net and secure a valuable point for the thirteenth-placed hosts.
Madrid remains second in the table with 27 points and has now played as many games as Barcelona. The Blaugrana can remain clear in the top four when they host Leganes on Sunday.
Data debrief: Rayo is still Blancos' bogey side
Madrid looked on course for a comeback win during their short trip to Vallecas, with Turkish international Arda Guler at the heart of their battle providing assists for Valverde and Rodrygo as they went 3-2 up.
At the age of 19 years and 293 days, he became the youngest Madrid player to provide multiple assists in a single league match this century.
However, poor defending was the champions' downfall as they dropped points for the fourth time in their last five visits to Rayo in LaLiga (one win, two draws, two defeats).
This is the first time they have failed to win on three consecutive trips to Vallecas (two draws, one loss).
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