Rayo Vallecano endured a rather mixed start to life upon their return to the Spanish top flight, with some convincing displays followed immediately by a series of less-than-inspiring performances very much the pattern. Many of Rayo's early-season outings left onlookers with a sense that the team's inability to secure results was down, as much as anything else, to their playing style, with the league newboys often paying the ultimate price for committing individual errors in dangerous areas of the pitch.
Back on Matchday 17, Michel decided to scrap his trusted 4-2-3-1 blueprint, a set-up that had seen him guide Rayo to promotion and to which he remained faithful at the start of the current campaign. The Madrid-born tactician went back to the drawing board and introduced a five-man rearguard featuring three central defenders and a pair of marauding wing-backs. This shake-up was quite possibly made in a conscious effort to try and shore up the heart of the defence, which was, at that stage, the second-leakiest in the league. Rayo's opening 16 games: 10 points (GF 15; GA 31 = GD -16) Rayo's last three games: nine points (GF 6; GA 2 = GD 4)
Uruguayan defender Emiliano Velazquez and Senegalese stopper Abdoulaye Ba, neither of whom began the campaign as regular fixtures in the starting line-up, have grabbed their opportunities with both hands, establishing themselves alongside Jordi Amat to help Rayo to their best defensive form of the season. Meanwhile,  the fact that the new system involves three centre-backs has afforded Luis Advincula and Alex Moreno licence to get forward without having to worry about the space to be exploited in behind them.
As an attacking force, Los Franjirrojos' leading marksman, Raul de Tomas, is very much the focal point. In Rayo's three most recent outings, he has largely been flanked by Oscar Trejo and Adrian Embarba, a duo who complement each other perfectly and bring contrasting qualities to the table. Whilst the former holds the ball up well, with his quality and know-how enabling Michel's charges to put together sustained periods of possession, the latter is a magician with the ball at his feet who excels in one-on-one situations and has the ability to provide assists and weigh in with goals.
Meanwhile, the Rayo boss also decided to introduce a change between the sticks, placing his faith in Stole Dimitrievski in favour of the ousted Alberto Garcia. The Macedonian shotstopper has earned rave reviews since breaking into the side, pulling off a number of vital stops, such as the 88th-minute penalty save which handed the Madrilenians a 1-0 away triumph over Real Valladolid CF. Another player worthy of special mention is reconverted midfielder Santi Comesaña, who has clocked up the most game time across the squad and is thriving in the new system. Giannelli Imbula and Alvaro Medran have been fighting it out for the right to take their place alongside Comesaña in the middle of the park, with the Belgian-born midfield general having enjoyed more minutes after the Valencia CF loanee was sidelined through injury.
One look at the results from the last three rounds of LaLiga Santander fixtures shows that table-toppers FC Barcelona and Rayo are the only teams to have taken all nine available points. This statistic clearly evidences the massive improvement brought about by the Madrid side's new tactical approach.
Michel's men ended the first half of the campaign occupying the final relegation spot, but their recent run of form has served to boost morale amongst a squad of players who are still very much alive and fighting as they bid to retain their place in the greatest league on the planet. © LaLiga - Year 2019

Speaking about: Míchel, Rayo Vallecano, LaLiga Santander, Raúl de Tomás, GolesSource: laliga.es