Jude Bellingham missed a penalty but scored a late winner and Vinicius Jr. was sent off as 10-man Real Madrid fought back in the most dramatic of fashions to beat Valencia 2-1 and return to the top of La Liga on Friday.
Luka Modri’s 85th minute equalizer and Bellingham’s stoppage time winner ensured that Madrid avoided back-to-back defeats in La Liga for the first time since 2019.
The win took it to 43 points, two above city rival Atletico, albeit having played a game more.
The match at the Mestalla pitted second from bottom against second from top and it was the struggling home side which took the lead after 27 minutes. Hugo Duro stabbed the ball into the empty net after it came back off the post.
Madrid came into the game more in the second half but it looked like it would be a frustrating night for the capital club.
Kylian Mbapp won a penalty after 55 minutes but Bellingham’s shot hit the post and moments later the Frenchman himself saw a goal disallowed after a video review.
Things got worse for Real with 11 minutes remaining when Vinicius pushed goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and the referee, after a long video review, showed the Brazilian a red card.
However, Real is never out of it and Carlo Ancelotti’s late changes turned the game around.
Modri came on in the 80th and it took the 39-year-old Croatian just five minutes to make his mark, dancing through a sea of defenders and poking home the equalizer.
Even with a man less there was a sense of inevitability as Real pushed for a winner, and five minutes into added time Bellingham made up for his earlier miss.
Valencia defender Hugo Guillamn seemed to slip and lay the ball into the path of the advancing Englishman, who made no mistake with only the keeper to beat.
Even then the drama was not over. Valencia deserved to take something from the match and Luis Roja almost got an equalizer with the last kick of the game. He watched in agony as his long-range shot came back off the post.
Valencia stayed second from bottom.
