Leipzig, a German city that Goethe called the little Paris, will be the little Vallecas on May 27, when Rayo plays the first European final in its history. The neighborhood is going to Germany for the Conference League. It only needs to overcome Crystal Palace in the last match, who eliminated Shakhtar in the semifinals. There is no rival that frightens Iñigo Pérez’s team, as humble as rebellious, small but tough.
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The Brazilian Alemão acted as the executioner of Strasbourg, both in the first leg and the return, at the Meinau stadium. The forward, signed from Oviedo, has only scored two goals in the League but has four in the Conference, including the two most important in Rayo’s short life in Europe. In two participations – he fell in the quarterfinals of the 2000-01 UEFA – he has reached his first major final and did so with a lesson in personality and loyalty to his ideas and style.
Two heroes
As in the first leg, Alemão was the executioner of the Alsatians, who saw Batalla save a penalty from them
Rayo was not content with defending the 1-0 from Vallecas but dominated the match against the Alsatian team from start to finish. From the start, they always knew what they wanted and had to do and they achieved it. They barely had any trouble until very late in a match that promised many twists.
However, an energetic and confident Rayo gave no chances to their rival. The visiting pressure repeatedly short-circuited Strasbourg’s ball distribution. Meanwhile, Iñigo Pérez’s team kept stealing in the opponent’s field and creating chances.
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The French, a satellite club of Chelsea, have a very young squad and faced a competitive, more experienced opponent who had plenty of chances to seal the semifinal with a much wider score. Not even Akomach’s injury during warm-up made Rayo hesitate. Pacha Espino replaced him in the starting eleven. Meanwhile, Penders, the Belgian goalkeeper, was Strasbourg’s star.
In the first ten minutes, Alemão, with a header, and De Frutos had the first two chances. It was not a mirage but Rayo’s attacks were continuous because the locals’ legs were shaking. Isi and Unai López tried from afar. The pitcher went so often to the well that just before halftime, Espino sent a cross to Lejeune’s head, who had gone up. Penders stopped the header but not Alemão’s shot, who caught his rebound with the first touch.
The second half could have been calm because right at the start Isi and De Frutos could have made it 0-2 with shots in the area. Camello and Pedro Díaz, who came on as substitutes, wasted two counterattacks that would have been decisive. But the final suffering in added time was missing. From a corner, Strasbourg found a penalty for Óscar Valentín’s handball but Batalla guessed the intentions of the Paraguayan Enciso. It was time to celebrate. No one will ever take that final away from a rebellious neighborhood proud of the feat of its Rayito.
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