Jorge de Frutos Shines Bright as Rayo Vallecano Trounces Levante, Leaping Frogs in La Liga Table
On a brisk October evening at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, Rayo Vallecano found their missing spark in Jorge de Frutos and incinerated Levante’s hopes with a clinical 3-0 triumph, vaulting out of the bottom rungs of La Liga and leaving Levante adrift in familiar frustration. For two sides mired near the cellar and searching for momentum, the result felt less like a routine away win and more like the ignition of a revival for the visitors—while Levante, battered and bewildered, will be left dissecting another collapse in front of their home faithful.
Before kickoff, both teams shared a precarious place in the standings: Levante and Rayo Vallecano entered the match level on eight points through eight games, separated only by recent form and the thin air of aspiration. The hosts, perched at 13th, had shown flashes of resilience in past weeks—a gritty 2-0 win at Oviedo and a four-goal salvo at Girona—but were haunted by defensive cracks, most glaringly exposed by Real Madrid’s ruthless 4-1 dismantling. Rayo, meanwhile, arrived with renewed confidence from a pair of hard-fought victories—including a European night to savor against Shkendija—but still searching for consistency in the league.
Within twelve minutes, the narrative was already taking sharp turns. Jorge de Frutos, familiar to Levante fans from his own spell in blue and red, delivered the evening’s first blow. Exploiting a lapse in Levante’s back line, De Frutos ghosted to the edge of the six-yard box to meet a driven cross, slicing past the keeper with cold precision to give Rayo the early edge. The stadium’s applause was tinged with regret; the scorer was once theirs, and now he was orchestrating their unraveling.
The second act came just as Levante’s midfield threatened to settle, and once more, De Frutos was the antagonist. In the 25th minute, he capitalized on a loose ball following a frantic scramble inside the box, threading his shot through a congested penalty area and doubling Rayo’s advantage. The sequence summed up Levante’s recent plight: a midfield overrun, defenders skittish, and a palpable inability to cope with Rayo’s voracious pressing.
Levante’s attempts to rally before halftime fell flat, a recurring theme in their past five matches. Gone was the fluidity that powered their rout of Girona; instead, misplayed passes and hesitant movement defined the half. Etta Eyong, so influential in recent victories, found little room to operate, while Carlos Álvarez—coming off a match-winning strike at Oviedo—saw scant service and even less opportunity.
Rayo, buoyed by their two-goal cushion, pressed their advantage after the interval. Their midfield commanded possession with purpose, and Levante’s response was reduced to hopeful long balls and rushed clearances. By the 65th minute, the contest was put beyond doubt. Álvaro García, who had threatened throughout the second half with bursting runs, linked with Unai López for a swift one-two before coolly slotting the ball into the far corner. García’s goal reflected Rayo’s collective poise, a side unshackled from early-season anxieties and prepared to climb.
For Levante, misfortune compounded into resignation. No red cards marred the evening—a testament only to the clean professionalism of Rayo’s approach, not to Levante’s discipline, as fouls yielded little disruption to the visitor’s rhythm. Substitute Iván Romero, who’d snatched goals in prior stalemates, never found the angle against Rayo’s resolute back four.
The historical ledger between these two sides has rarely leaned as lopsided as tonight. In recent campaigns, Levante had often found a way to unsettle Rayo, extracting points at home and away through determined counterattacking play. Yet tonight, with both languishing near the relegation zone, the clash felt more consequential—a litmus test for who truly belongs above the line. Rayo’s emphatic answer may linger long in the memory.
As the final whistle echoed, Rayo Vallecano leaped to 11th place on goal difference, their eight points now a symbol of resurgence rather than mere survival. Levante, stalled at 13th, are left confronting the narrative of a season gone awry: brilliant on their best days, but too often undone by defensive frailty and attacking inertia.
The coming weeks will test each side’s mettle. Levante must address tactical shortcomings and rediscover the cohesion that powered their early wins; anything less risks dragging them deeper into the relegation scrum. Rayo, meanwhile, will look to build on tonight’s fluidity, aiming to spin momentum into a run that could transform them from stragglers to contenders for mid-table security—or perhaps more.
For now, one man’s name dominates the headlines: Jorge de Frutos. On a night when redemption and rivalry collided, his two decisive strikes illuminated Rayo’s path forward and sent Levante back to the drawing board, searching for answers amid the autumn gloom.