Good evening and welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of the Spanish Liga fixture between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano. We'll bring you all the action as it happens. Kick off is at 5.30pm.

That certainly wasn't a vintage Real Madrid performance, but they escape with thre points thanks to Benzema's goal in the first half. It's enough to take them third in the Liga table. Now, they head to Abu Dhabi to play in the Club World Cup next week.

FULL TIME: Real Madrid 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

Real Madrid are hanging on here. They have been pretty poor in this second half and one wonders why Rayo Vallecano left it so late to have a go at the Santiago Bernabeu side.

Massive double save! Huge opportunity for Rayo Vallecano to grab a point in stoppage time! Alegria's spinning shot was saved by Courtois, who then also made the save from Velazquez!

Three minutes of stoppage time to be played at the end of the match.

Chance for Rayo! Vazquez concedes a freekick in a dangerous position. This is the sort of thing Real want to avoid late on. The freekick is defended, but is put behind for a corner.

The return of Carvajal to the first team has made Real Madrid a much stronger side these past few weeks. They are on course for three points, assuming there is no late shock, and he has helped.

Handball? Vinicius and some of the Real Madrid players believe that Ba handled the ball inside the penalty area. It probably did strike his arm, but it was down by his side.

Five minutes to go and Rayo Vallecano are still very much in this game. They have struggled to create much in the second half, but it only takes one moment of magic.

The longer this scoreline stays 1-0, the more the tension builds inside the Santiago Bernabeu. This hasn't been a good second half performance from Real Madrid. They have been poor.

Imbula is the latest player to enter the book. This time, for a tackle on Ceballos.

That was the worry for Real Madrid, that they would suffer another injury late on in this match. They have to fly out to Abu Dhabi soon to play in the Club World Cup. A blow.

Indeed, Benzema hobbles off and Vinicius Jnr comes on in his place.

Now Benzema is down! This could be a problem for the Real Madrid striker. He is down on the turf and is holding his ankle. Looks like Benzema might have to come off for the final 10 minutes.

Still no sign of Isco...

Half chance for Rayo! Real Madrid need to be very careful here. Alvaro sits Ramos on the ground as he drives to the edge of the box, but in the end the shot is blocked on its way through.

Asensio didn't have the best of games. He had chances to score and should have done better. He is just one of the many players at Real Madrid who look to be lacking confidence right now.

Alegria comes on for the final 15 minutes and that will allow Rayo Vallecano to be a bit more direct.