Mbappé's last-gasp penalty lifts Real Madrid to 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano in Spanish league

MADRID (AP) — Kylian Mbappé came through for Real Madrid again, converting a penalty kick 10 minutes into stoppage time to salvage a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano and move Madrid back within a point of Spanish league leader Barcelona on Sunday.

Vinícius Júnior also scored for Madrid after again being jeered by fans early on at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Jude Bellingham, also booed when the lineup was announced, had to be replaced 10 minutes into the match because of an apparent left hamstring injury.

Madrid was coming off a 4-2 loss at Benfica that dropped the team out of the eight automatic spots for the round of 16 of the Champions League. It will face Benfica again in the playoffs.

“We came from a tough defeat, one that nobody ever wants, in the Champions, a competition many of us aspire to win," Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde said. “We wanted to change that image, today we had the first opportunity, and I think we played a great game.”

It was a thriller at the Bernabeu on Sunday, with Mbappé giving Madrid the victory by coolly converting the last-gasp penalty for his eighth goal in five matches.

The result allowed Álvaro Arbeloa's side to keep pace with Barcelona, which won 3-1 at Elche on Saturday.

“It was a victory in which the players put a lot of energy, their soul,” said Arbeloa, who took over after replacing Xabi Alonso last month. “We needed the help of the fans and without their push we would not have achieved it.”

The boos toward Vinícius were subdued after he scored a superb goal in the 15th minute. The Brazil international cleared a couple of defenders before curling a right-footed shot into the top corner.

Rayo, which played a man down from the 80th after Pathé Ciss was sent off with a straight red card for a hard foul, equalized with Jorge De Frutos in the 49th.

Vallecano, which threatened at times at the Bernabeu, also saw Pep Chavarría shown a second yellow in the final minutes of added time.

Bellingham was on his own when he seemed to pick up the left leg injury. He immediately grabbed the back of his leg with his left hand before going to the ground. He received medical assistance and seemed emotional as he left the field under his own power.

The England international was replaced by Brahim Díaz, who five minutes later set up the Vinícius goal that made it 1-0 for Madrid. Díaz also prompted the foul of the penalty converted by Mbappé.

“We don’t yet know anything about Jude," Arbeloa said. “He came into the match in perfect condition, although he’s been putting in tremendous effort in every game he’s played since I’ve been here.”

Mbappé had missed an open net in the 68th, hitting the crossbar after getting past the goalkeeper.

With the game tied 1-1 in the 64th, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois came up with a crucial save on a one-on-one following a Rayo breakaway.

Rayo, which has lost four straight in all competitions, had lost only one of its last five games against Madrid in the league. It dropped to 17th place, just outside the relegation zone.

Pablo Fornals scored an 88th-minute winner to give fifth-place Real Betis a 2-1 win over 15th-place Valencia, which had won three in a row in all competitions. Chimy Ávila also scored for the hosts, three minutes after Luis Rioja had given Valencia the lead.

Seventh-place Celta Vigo drew 0-0 at 16th-place Getafe, which hasn't won in nine consecutive matches across all tournaments. Celta stayed winless in three straight games.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, center left, heads for the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, left, tries a shot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe tries a shot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

It all began after a viral video alleging fraud in Somali-run child care centers in Minneapolis: strangers peering through windows, right-wing journalists showing up outside homes, influencers hurling false accusations.

In San Diego, child care provider Samsam Khalif was shuttling kids to her home-based center when she was spooked by two men with a camera waiting in a car parked outside, prompting her to circle the block several times before unloading the children.

“I’m scared. I don’t know what their intention is,” said Khalif, who decided to install additional security cameras outside her home.

Somali-run child care centers across the United States have become targets since the video caught the attention of the White House amid the administration's immigration crackdown. Child care providers worry about how they can maintain the safe learning environments they have worked to create for impressionable young children who may be spending their first days away from their parents.

In the Minneapolis area, child care providers, many of them immigrants, say they're being antagonized, exacerbating the stress they face from immigration enforcement activity that has engulfed the city.

One child care provider said she watched someone emerge from a car that had been circling the building and defecate near the center's entrance. The same day, a motorist driving by yelled that the center was a “fake day care.” She’s had to create new lockdown procedures, is budgeting for security and now keeps the blinds closed to shield children from unwanted visitors and from witnessing immigration enforcement actions.

“I can’t have peace of mind about whether the center will be safe today,” said the provider, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted. “That’s a hard pill to swallow.”

The day after Christmas, right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a lengthy video with explosive allegations that members of Minneapolis's large Somali community were running fake child care centers so they could collect federal child care subsidies.

The U.S. occasionally has seen fraud cases related to child care subsidies. But the Minneapolis video's central claims — that business owners were billing the government for children they were not caring for — were disproven by inspectors. Nonetheless, the Trump administration attempted to freeze child care funding for Minnesota and five other Democratic-led states until a court ordered the funding to be released.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted Somali immigrants with dehumanizing rhetoric, calling them “garbage” and “low IQ" and suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat who was born in Somalia, should be deported: “Throw her the hell out!” In Minnesota, 87% of foreign-born Somalis are naturalized U.S. citizens.

Trump has zeroed in on a years-old case in which a sprawling network of fraudsters — many of them Somali Americans — bilked Minnesota of an estimated $300 million that was supposed to help feed children and families. His rhetoric intensified after Shirley's video was posted.

In Federal Way, Washington, and Columbus, Ohio, both home to large Somali communities, right-wing journalists and influencers began showing up unannounced at addresses for child care operations they pulled from state websites.

In one video, a man arrives at a bungalow-style building in Columbus. He films through the glass front door, showing a foyer with cheerful posters that read “When we learn, we grow” and “Make today happy.”

“It does not look like a child care center at all,” the man said.

Ohio dispatched an inspector to the address and found that it was, in fact, a child care center. Its voicemail was hacked, so parents calling heard a slur-laden message calling Somalis “sand rats” and saying they “worship a false religion of baby-raping terrorists," according to WOSU-FM.

In Washington state, child care workers called police on the right-wing journalists who kept appearing outside their homes.

Journalists with the right-leaning Washington outlet Center Square filmed themselves pressing a woman for proof that she ran a child care center she was collecting federal subsidies for. She refused to answer questions.

“Are you aware of the Somali day care fraud? We're just trying to check out if this is a real day care," one of the journalists said. “Where are the children?”

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson posted a statement on X saying she would not tolerate anyone trying to “intimidate, harass or film Somali child care providers.” Then, Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, issued her own warning: “Asking questions/citizen journalism are NOT HATE CRIMES in America — they are protected speech, and if Seattle tries to chill that speech, @CivilRights will step in to protect it and set them straight!”

In Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine held a news conference to debunk a right-wing influencer’s fraud claims about a Columbus child care center and assured people the state diligently monitored centers that receive public money. He said a child care provider refusing to let in a stranger should not be read as a sign of fraud.

“It shouldn’t be a shock when someone sees something on social media, and someone is going, ‘I can’t get into this place, no one will let me in,’” DeWine said in a news conference in January. “Well, hell, no! No one should let them in.”

Even after DeWine refuted the claims, Republicans in the Statehouse introduced legislation to more closely monitor child care centers, including one that would require those that take public money to provide live video feeds of their classrooms to state officials.

Child care advocates say the fraud allegations are detracting from other, more pressing crises.

Child care subsidy programs in many states have lengthy waiting lists, making it difficult for parents to return to work. The programs that subsidize child care for families that struggle to afford it are also facing funding threats, including from the Trump administration.

Ruth Friedman, who headed the Office of Child Care under President Joe Biden, accused Trump and Republicans of manufacturing a crisis for political gain.

“They are using it to try to discredit the movement toward investing in child care," said Friedman, who is now a senior fellow at the left-leaning Century Foundation.

Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement that the department “rejects the claim that concerns about child care program integrity are manufactured.” He urged people to report suspected fraud to the government.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Samsam Khalif prepares for meal time at her home-based child care center Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Samsam Khalif works with children at her home-based child care center Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Samsam Khalif closes curtains as she prepares for nap time at her home-based child care center Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Samsam Khalif shows a child a stuffed animal as she prepares for nap time at her home-based child care center Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Samsam Khalif plays with children at her home-based child care center Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)