Rayo Vallecano’s journey back home after their match against Villarreal hit turbulence when their plane was struck by lightning, forcing the team to travel by bus instead.
The return trip from Villarreal (3-0) turned into an unexpected ordeal for Rayo Vallecano. Following the hefty defeat on the pitch, getting back to Madrid took longer than anticipated. Their plane, scheduled to transport the team, was rendered unusable after being hit by lightning. Finding an alternative plan wasn’t easy either.
The possibility of a bus journey quickly emerged, but another hiccup prolonged the return: the challenge of finding a driver. Players and staff found themselves stranded at the stadium for quite some time during the search. Eventually, everything fell into place once a rare gem of a driver was found to cover the 400-kilometer distance between Valencia and the Spanish capital.
While the saying goes that lightning never strikes the same place twice, it seems to have targeted Rayo’s plane for the second time in a few weeks. According to Pasion Por El Rayo, a similar incident occurred a month ago during their trip to Celta Vigo (0-0) on March 31st. Lightning struck near the aircraft scheduled to carry the players, prompting a safety protocol to ensure the plane’s integrity. Already at the airport, players and coaches eventually turned back to spend the night in Galicia before departing for Madrid the next day.
Following the defeat against Francis Coquelin and Etienne Capoue’s teammates on Sunday, Rayo Vallecano, with Radamel Falcao and Florian Lejeune, sits 15th with an eight-point cushion over Cadiz, the first relegation spot, with five matches remaining in the season. They now face Almeria, the bottom-placed team, at home on Sunday, which should spare them any further travel mishaps.
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