Rayo: Rubén; Arbilla, Zé Castro, Gálvez, Rat; Saúl Ñíguez, Trashorras; Rochina (José Carlos 66’), Alberto Bueno (Jonathan Viera 66’), Iago Falqué (Longo 91’); Larrivey. 4-2-3-1.
Osasuna: Andrés; Oier, Loties, Arribas, Damià; Puñal, Raoul Loe; Alvaro Cejudo (Lobato 91’), Francisco Silva (Acuña 76’), Roberto Torres (Joan Oriol 85‘); Oriol Riera. 4-2-3-1.
Goals:
1-0. 90. Larrivey (penalty). After Damià pulled José Carlos back by his shorts.
Yellow cards: Francisco Silva 32’, Gálvez 76’, Arribas 89’, Longo 92’, Puñal 92’.
Rayo Vallecano took a giant step towards safety after they beat relegation rivals Osasuna 1-0 on Wednesday evening. Both teams were clearly nervous, and only a couple of long shots by Silva and Bueno troubled either keeper before the break. Bueno had a strike ruled out for offside after Larrivey’s shot came back off the post early on in the second half, and Rubén had to be on his toes to push a long shot by Cejudo around the post. The game appeared to be heading for a draw though until the last minute, when the locals were awarded a penalty after Damìa held on to José Carlos by his shorts, and Larrivey stepped up to drill home the spot kick to take Rayo five points clear of the drop zone. Osasuna though are now only just a point above the bottom three after a fifth defeat in a row.