Real Madrid secured a chaotic 2-1 victory over Valencia at Mestalla on Friday night, with Jude Bellingham clinching the decisive goal deep into stoppage time despite earlier missing a penalty. The result sees Los Blancos reclaim the top spot in La Liga, moving two points clear of Atletico Madrid and five ahead of Barcelona.
Valencia opened the scoring in the 27th minute through Hugo Duro, who tapped into an empty net after Thibaut Courtois parried Javi Guerra’s initial effort. The hosts dominated the first half, testing Courtois five times and heading into the break with a deserved lead.
Real Madrid’s comeback efforts faced an early setback in the second half when Bellingham struck the post from the penalty spot, squandering a golden opportunity to equalize. Moments later, Kylian Mbappé thought he had leveled the match, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.
Tensions escalated further in the 80th minute when Vinicius Junior was shown a red card for pushing Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, leaving Madrid to fight on with 10 men. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Luka Modric restored parity minutes later with a composed finish.
In dramatic fashion, Bellingham redeemed his earlier miss by scoring the winner in the 95th minute, sealing three crucial points for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Meanwhile, Valencia remain mired in relegation trouble, sitting 19th in the table.
