Rayo Vallecano have succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Valencia in this evening's Copa del Rey last-32 first leg at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas.
The hosts were lively from the off, winning a succession of corners in the first few minutes and nearly breaking through the Valencia defence until Lica was pulled up for offside.
For a large period of the first half, however, the game found itself bogged down in midfield with repeated fouls breaking up play.
The Vallecas-based outfit continued to push forward, with Jozabed seeing his shot blocked in the 27th minute and Raul Baena forcing a save from Yoel just after the half-hour mark.
Indeed, the home side went on to break the deadlock not long before the break, Alex Moreno poking a low shot home following a corner.
In the second half, Rayo picked up from where they left off, laying siege to the Valencia goal in the opening stages.
Nevertheless, the visitors were able to hold off the attacks, and in the 70th minute were able to pull themselves level when Paco Alcacer fired into the bottom corner past goalkeeper David Cobeno.
Just as it seemed that the game had reached an impasse, Rodrigo de Paul picked up a Filipe Augusto ball before firing home to put Valencia in front with just five minutes left to play.
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