Los Blancos’ defeat against Valencia at the Santiago Bernabéu complicates Real Madrid’s title aspirations
After sealing their place in the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad with intrigue and suspense, Real Madrid returned to LaLiga action with another match in which securing all three points was a must to remain in the fight for first place. Real Madrid hosted Valencia this Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu with the clear objective of winning and hoping for a slip-up from FC Barcelona. To achieve this, Carlo Ancelotti had to start youth player Fran González due to the physical problems of Courtois and Lunin.
In addition to the obvious and obligatory change in goal, Carletto changed a large part of his defense (Tchouaméni, Rüdiger and Fran García recovered the starting lineup to the detriment of Asencio, Alaba and Camavinga) keeping Lucas Vázquez at right back, placed Valverde as a pivot and once again bet on Modric as an interior alongside Bellingham, and reserved Rodrygo to bring in Brahim, who shared the front line with Vinicius and Mbappé. For his part, Corberán trusted in a five-defense formation with Mamardashvili; Max Aarons, Mosquera, Diahkaby, Tárrega, Jesús Vázquez; Barrenechea, Javi Guerra; Diego López, Almeida; and Umar Sadiq.
DRAMATIC FIRST HALF
After an emotional minute of silence in memory of the two firefighters who died in Alcorcón, the match began in a rather hectic fashion. So much so that in the 10th minute, after a great pass from Valverde into space, Mbappé was left alone in front of the goalkeeper and went down inside the box, brought down by Tárrega. VAR called Cuadra Fernández to review the incident, as the penalty was admittedly highly doubtful, but the referee didn’t change his decision and, understanding that the struggle with the defender and the slight contact were grounds for a sanction, awarded a penalty, which Vinicius would waste with a terrible shot, too central, and blocked by Mamardashvili.
A poor start to the match only to get worse five minutes in, with a goal conceded: a corner for Valencia, a failed marking by Tchouaméni and Rüdiger, and a header from Diahkaby, who went in all alone to put the visitors ahead. A surreal and dramatic first quarter of an hour for the Whites, who were to have another upset for Real Madrid in the form of a goal disallowed in the 21st minute: an attempted pass to Mbappé in the box, a rebound fell to Diahkaby, and the Valencia defender scored an own goal as he tried to clear the ball. He went to the wrong end and unleashed a shot straight at his own goal; however, the goal was disallowed because Kylian was offside (millimeter-wide, due to a knee) and influenced the play.
A difficult moment for the Merengue team, who saw that they couldn’t take the ball away from Valencia either. However, little by little, Real Madrid recovered, taking possession and creating more opportunities on goal, such as a shot from Mbappé that Mamardashvili saved with a sublime dive, or a fine run from Bellingham whose shot, almost falling, grazed the post. In fact, the final minutes of the first half were a monologue from the Real Madrid players, but the most important thing was missing: accuracy in front of goal. The fans sent the team off at halftime with several whistles.
REAL MADRID THROWS LALIGA
The second half began as the first had ended, with the Whites dominating and creating danger. Mbappé fired a blistering shot from the edge of the box that Mamardashvili cleared well, sending it slightly across the line. Vinicius’s goal came in the 50th minute. Modric took a corner from the left, but no one reached the near post, and the Brazilian got the ball in at the far post, getting just enough to tip it into the back of the net. Real Madrid started an energetic and intense second half, seemingly finally realizing the importance of the match. In search of a win, Ancelotti made a splash, taking off a misguided Brahim to bring on Rodrygo in the 56th minute.
The Merengues’ initial push faded, and Diahkaby came close to scoring a brace from another set piece, but Fran González was able to pull off a brilliant, reflexive save. A scare followed by another Mbappé shot inside the box that went just wide, and a brilliant save from Fede Valverde, whose shot from the edge of the six-yard box was saved by Mamardashvili with a spectacular save. The minutes ticked by, and Real Madrid were still struggling to score. Therefore, in the 76th minute, Ancelotti introduced new changes: Endrick, Camavinga, and Alaba (at left back) for Modric, Vinicius, and Fran García. And with his first chance, the former Palmeiras player was headed in by Diahkaby, which led to a penalty for handball. A dubious move.
Towards the end, Carletto brought off Lucas for Güler, and the Madrid team went all out in search of victory. The chances kept coming, like an easy shot from Rodrygo or a cross from Alaba that Mbappé missed by inches, but there was no way to break through. However, after a counterattack, it was Valencia who did score a valuable goal in their fight for survival: Rafa Mir crossed from the right and Hugo Duro headed in at will to make it 2-1, as Rüdiger failed to take advantage of a clear opportunity alone against Mamardashvili. A very tough defeat that seriously complicates Real Madrid’s hopes of winning the league title. Their next match will be on Tuesday in the Champions League against Arsenal, the first leg of the quarter-finals.
