8 In A Row: Real Punish Valencia To Close G…

Photo by Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Real Madrid moved level points with LALGIGA leaders FC Barcelona after defeating Valencia 3-0 in LALIGA action on Saturday night.

LALIGA
Teams: Valencia v Real Madrid
Result: 0-3
Scorers: Valverde (28′), Guler (36′), Mbappe (75′)

Vinícius Júnior was serving the final game of his four-game league suspension as Yan Diomande kept his spot on the left side of the attack, while Federico Valverde was restored at right-back after the midweek UEFA Champions League action.

The game got off to a slow start but it was Valencia who went close to taking the lead on 18 minutes when Aaron Mayol won the ball ahead of Tchouaméni and unleashed a powerful volley from distance that forced goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into a fine save.

Los Blancos took the lead with their first real effort at goal as Valverde pounced on a rebound from Kylian Mbappé’s free-kick and rifled the ball into the bottom corner with an unstoppable strike to make it two goals in two games this week.

The visitors doubled their lead ten minutes before the half-time break when the lively Jude Bellingham raced to the byline before sending a cross into the box where Arda Güler was on hand to volley home his third league goal of the campaign.

José Mourinho’s charges carried that dominance over the second half and nearly added a third goal just before the hour mark when Mbappé collected a pass in the box before unleashing a low strike that forced Stole Dimitrievski into a superb save.

Courtois proved his worth at the other end ten minutes later as he showed great reflexes to get down and keep out Arnaut Danjuma’s low strike from the left as the Los Blancos defence were cut open by Javi Guerra.

However, the visitors went on to grab the third goal with 15 minutes left on the clock when Güler turned provider to play in Mbappé, who skipped past Dimitrievski to fire into an empty net for his 13th league goal of the season and his 18th goal across all competitions.

The clash ended on a sour note for the home side, who were reduced to ten men in the final ten minutes when José Gayà was given his marching orders for bringing down Mbappé as the last man, with Mourinho’s men seeing out the closing stages with ease to move level on points with Barcelona.

Next Five Fixtures:

Valencia: Tavernes (A), Rayo Vallecano (A), Osasuna (H), Getafe (A), Atletico Madrid (H)

Real Madrid: Celta Vigo (H), PSV Eindhoven (H), Alaves (H), Real Sociedad (A), Athletic Bilbao (A)

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