At the heart of a recent rally (7)

I believe the answer is:

central

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'at' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.

'heart of a recent rally' is the wordplay.
'heart of' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'CENTRAL' can be found hidden inside 'recent rally'.

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for central that I've seen before include "Near the middle" , "Key" , "Middle; crucial" , "like this answer" , "Extremely important" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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