Penalty Frenzy on the Brink: Real Madrid-Ties Club Record for Penalties
1 February 2026
Match recap: Madrid 2-1 Vallecano at the Bernabéu
Real Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1 in Week 22 of La Liga at the Santiago Bernabéu, a tense victory that kept their title chase alive and left fans nervously counting the next penalty.
Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé provided the goals, both from penalties, in the 15th and the 100th minute respectively, turning a tight affair into late-night drama worthy of a soap opera.
Mundo Deportivo, the Catalan daily, noted that Madrid needed a late penalty to win again and that this season’s tally stood at 11 penalties in 22 games, a figure that ties the club’s own historical record.
Across the match, the narrative of a late spot-kick that sparked the finish and a red card that cooled celebrations added to the sense of a cathedral clockwork kept striking at strange hours.
The report catalogued a sequence of results influenced by penalties: Osasuna, Levante, Villarreal, Barcelona, Valencia, Girona, Deportivo Alavés, Sevilla, and Vallecano all featured in a pattern that gave Madrid precious points.
If the trend continues, Madrid could surpass their own records from 2024/25 and 2019/20 by a wide margin, turning penalties into a weapon as much as a spectacle.
The late drama persisted, with a 100th-minute penalty sealing the win and stoppage time stretching nerves across the stands and living rooms alike.
Coach Álvaro Arbeloa, steering a Madrid side that continues to find chances from the spot, will hope this trend translates into sustained results as the season progresses.
Bottom line: Madrid’s penalty factory is producing points, fueling momentum and igniting debate about refereeing patterns that could dominate this season’s storyline, for better or worse.
Punchlines: If penalties were a language, Madrid would be fluent by now. If football had a Bluetooth, the ball would pair with Madrid’s net and stay connected.
