Real Madrid missed the chance to leapfrog Barcelona at the top of LaLiga as they played out an absorbing 3-3 draw with lowly local rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Playing their final domestic game before they jet off 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 surging into a two-goal lead within 36 minutes, Unai Lopez opening the scoring with a fourth-minute header 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 three further minutes, then Jude Bellingham dragged them level with a first-time finish shortly before half-time.
Rodrygo gave Madrid the lead for the first time with a deflected strike from the edge of the area 11 minutes into the second period, but there was to be one final twist.
Palazon added a goal to go with his earlier assist, getting between Antonio Rudiger and Aurelien Tchouameni to deflect a cross into the net and secure the 13th-placed hosts a valuable point.
Madrid remain second in the table on 27 points, having now played as many games as Barcelona. The Blaugrana can go four clear at the summit when they host Leganes on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Rayo still Blancos' bogey side
Madrid looked to be on course for a comeback victory on their short trip to Vallecas, with Turkey international Arda Guler at the heart of their fightback with 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 lay on multiple assists in a single league game this century.
However, poor defending was the champions' undoing 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 successive trips to Vallecas (two draws, one loss).
