Real Madrid secured a crucial 2-1 victory over Valencia on Friday at Mestalla Stadium, in a postponed match from La Liga’s 12th round.
Luka Modric scored for Real Madrid in the 85th minute, followed by Jude Bellingham’s dramatic strike in the 90+5th minute. Valencia’s Hugo Duro had given his team the lead with a goal in the 27th minute.
With this victory, Los Blancos moved to the top of the La Liga table with 43 points, while Valencia remained in 19th place with 12 points.
The match began with early pressure from Real Madrid, as Federico Valverde received the ball inside the Valencia penalty area and took a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Dimitrovski in the 4th minute.
Valencia quickly responded, with Hugo Duro firing a shot that Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois brilliantly saved
Courtois continued his stellar performance, saving a close-range shot from Volker in the 12th minute.
Valencia took the lead in the 27th minute when Volker’s shot was parried by Courtois, and Duro pounced on the rebound to slot the ball into the net.
A long-range effort from Aurélien Tchouaméni in the 34th minute was denied by Dimitrovski, who made another key save.
Vinicius Jr. came close to equalizing in the 42nd minute after receiving a pass from Dani Ceballos, leaving him one-on-one with Dimitrovski. However, the Valencia goalkeeper was quick to block the shot, and the first half ended with Valencia leading 1-0.
In the second half, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty after a rough challenge by Targa on Kylian Mbappe inside the box. Jude Bellingham stepped up to take the penalty, but his shot hit the left post, denying the opportunity to equalize in the 55th minute.
Bellingham then played a through ball to Mbappe, who dribbled past the Valencia goalkeeper and put the ball into the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside in the 59th minute.
Lucas Vazquez also tried his luck with a powerful shot from outside the area, but it sailed over the crossbar.
In the 79th minute, Vinicius Junior was shown a direct red card for a hit on Valencia goalkeeper Dmitrievski without the ball. The referee reviewed the incident through video technology before making the decision to send him off.
Substitute Luka Modric came through for Real Madrid in the 85th minute, scoring the equalizer just five minutes after entering the game. He received a perfectly timed pass from Bellingham and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner.
In the dying moments of the match, Bellingham capitalized on a fatal defensive error from Valencia, intercepting the ball and firing it into the far left corner of the goal in the 95th minute, securing the win for Real Madrid and moving them to the top of the La Liga standings.
