Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid: Match review | OneFootball

Real Madrid begin 2025 by winning against Valencia in the most ‘Madrid’ way possible as they scripted a 1-2 victory.

Ferland Mendy started for the first time since the match against Girona, with Dani Ceballos also keeping his place in the lineup.

Los Blancos were put on the back foot by Valencia as the home side were playing a new brand of football under recently appointed manager Carlos Corberan.

Fede Valverde’s shot from inside the box was saved by Dimitrievski – since then, it was all Valencia. They kept Thibaut Courtois at his feet, with either the Belgian making save after save or just shooting it wide.

Their hard work paid off in the 27th minute following some smooth passing. Captain and right-back Dimitri Foulquier found Javi Guerra whose shot was saved but fell on the rebound for the danger man, Hugo Duro, to score and put his side into the lead.

The half came to an end with Los Blancos creating just one big chance in the 5th minute. It was a poor display which even led Carlo Ancelotti to admit that they were bad.

The Merengues began the second half with intent and as a result, were rewarded with a penalty in the 51st minute. It was a surprise that the in-form Jude Bellingham hit the post – this showed that nothing was going Madrid’s way that night.

But being Real Madrid, they were not going to give up easily. Kylian Mbappe thought he had equalised but as has been a frequent story this season – the Frenchman was ruled offside by the barest of margins.

Vinícius Júnior was a player who was constantly whistled upon by the Valencia fans whenever he received the ball and the situation boiled over in the 75th minute.

Dimitrievski instigated the Brazilian which led Vinicius to pushing him. The shot stopper fell to the ground and following a VAR check, the referee sent the winger off with a direct red card. He was visibly frustrated and is now reportedly set to be suspended for the next two league matches and will be available for the Spanish Super Cup.

Down to 10 men, Ancelotti made some changes and brought on Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, and Brahim Díaz in place of Dani Ceballos, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo Goes respectively.

This move paid dividends as Jude Bellingham set up Modric sumptuously, with the veteran Croatian putting his side on level terms late in the match.

Seeing nine minutes being added on lit up Madrid players’ eyes as they felt a winner was there for the taking. That’s exactly what transpired after the substitute Hugo Guillamon lost the ball in the midfield with Jude Bellingham latching onto it and securing the three points for Los Blancos.

Madridistas would have had their hearts in their mouths after Luis Rioja beat Camavinga on the left and took a stunning shot to find the equaliser in the dying minutes – hitting the crossbar to the relief of the fans and Ancelotti’s men.

This was a crucial victory for Real Madrid since they are now league leaders with a five point difference over FC Barcelona however, Atletico Madrid sit on second with a game in hand and can overtake their city rivals. Also with this win, Los Blancos become the first club in La Liga history to win 5,000 points.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men can bask in the glory for now but they are well aware that the difficult part of the season has begun and they will need to keep up their performances.