Valencia 0-2 Real Madrid (Carreras & Mbappé). Three points at the Mestalla… Here is the immediate reaction. More for you: Player ratings, interviews and a post game podcast.
The season may well be all over the place, but Real Madrid find themselves just a point behind leaders Barcelona in La Liga – so would just need to keep winning to stay in the race. Valencia away isn’t a favourite trip for any of the players, but with the opposition hovering just over the relegation zone – you’d expect Real Madrid to be confident that they could get a result. David Jiménez started at right-back after being drafted in from Castilla. Gonzalo García started in attack, in the absence of Vinícius Júnior (suspension). Fede Valverde was captain.
Valencia started on the front foot, but it was Real Madrid who had the best chances of the first half. First Arda Güler took a good touch, before his low effort was blocked. Then Kylian Mbappé came closest, hitting the keeper from inside the area. Finally, David Jiménez forced another save after a good forward run. Despite these chances, they did not look the better side, and finished the half with the score at 0-0.
Real Madrid improved in the second half, without looking particularly dazzling. They didn’t create much to show for this, however – until Álvaro Carreras went on a fortunate run at the defence, before sliding the ball through the traffic and past the keeper to open the scoring. Valencia should have equalised five minutes later, but were unable to hit the target. After a poor period of play, Kylian Mbappé decided to cheque-in his goal a game cheat code in added time, taking advantage of his position on the pitch to receive an easy tap-in. Full-time: 2-0 to Real Madrid? What was your take on the game?