“The largest neighborhood in Europe” experienced an unforgettable night, one of those stories passed down from grandparents to grandchildren. Vallecas had never attended a European competition semifinal (two Copa del Rey semifinals, the last in 2022 against Betis) and dressed up for the occasion. Nerves from early morning, a mosaic in the stands, and a grin from ear to ear on the faces of its people, who supported the team until the last breath while the match became tangled and Rayo stoically held the lead (1-0). In a week, the spot in the final will be played at the Stade de la Meinau, in the capital of Alsace. That could be a football war, judging by what was seen in the first leg.
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The script from the start was expected to be very different from the day against AEK (3-0), victims in the quarterfinals. Strasbourg’s players resembled the All Blacks, men carved from the same mold, all muscle, who from the beginning turned the field into a kind of Vietnam and opted for direct play. Rayo would struggle to deploy their associative game, with Isi isolated like an island amid the French blue. Despite this, the match was in their boots, that was clear even to the fans watching from the balconies of their homes on Teniente Muñoz Díaz street. Beer in hand.
Amid the thickness of the game, with the routine “Presa go away” (not even spared on a historic day), there was little to enjoy in the first half. The most entertaining was Strasbourg’s captain, signed by Chelsea and loaned to their satellite in France, who decided to play a match against the Vallecas stands. Emmanuel Esseh Emegha, who was sanctioned in 2025 by his club for believing Alsace was in Germany (?), looked defiantly at the side stands of the stadium, received boos (“fool, fool”) and at halftime his provocations fired up the Rayo bench, which went after him. They had to take him away amid the commotion. After the break, he was warned and calmed down, like his team, victims of the more dominant Rayo.
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A corner from Isi was half-headed, half-backed by Alemao, overshadowed in the physical duel by the center-backs, who won that decisive battle. His shot lobbed over Panders. The goalkeeper, on another corner, flew to prevent Lejeune’s 2-0. Vallecas was having fun while their team kept growing on the field and only Doukoure kept the French team, eighth in Ligue 1, standing, which was not able to shoot once on goal in Vallecas.
There was no news from Strasbourg, who claimed a non-existent penalty on Omobamidele. Then Rayo, through De Frutos, the most unbalancing player, asked for more than a yellow card on Moreira, while Lejeune, again from a corner, shot into the goalkeeper’s hands when he was alone at the penalty spot. A run by Camello could not be finished by Pedro, in the clearest chance for the home team to make it 2-0. That would have been the end of a night that was already unforgettable. In a week it could be even more.
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