The home side went close to scoring the opener with only three minutes on the clock when Pacha Espino’s effort took a slight deflection and looked to be sneaking inside the left post, only for Unai Simon to push the ball behind for a corner.
Florian Lejeune was next to threaten for Rayo shortly after with a header that required another Simon intervention, and the Spanish goalkeeper continued to earn his keep inside the opening half-hour by preventing Alvaro Garcia’s header from finding the bottom corner.
While they came into the clash on the back of three consecutive LaLiga victories, Athletic struggled to make any impression in the first half, instead falling behind 10 minutes before half-time. After a VAR check, Garcia was adjudged to have held his run perfectly prior to squaring the ball for Jorge de Frutos, who fired home at the far post.
That strike put Rayo in a strong position given they were unbeaten when scoring the first goal in LaLiga this season, but less than two minutes into the second half, they were pegged back. A long pass into the area was headed by Alex Berenguer into the path of Inaki Williams, and the forward took a touch before arrowing a volley into the back of the net.
Subsequently, chances were few and far between, with the hosts unable to replicate their first-half display and the away side never looking likely to kick on and find a winner.
Although they missed out on registering successive league wins as hosts for the first time since February 2025, Rayo have now tasted defeat in just one of their last 12 competitive matches in front of their own supporters. As such, they climb a place to 14th and sit three points above the drop zone.
Meanwhile, Athletic remain eighth, having failed to put pressure on the sides above them in the battle for a European place.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jorge de Frutos (Rayo Vallecano)
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