Real Madrid pulled off a spectacular late comeback to beat Valencia 2-1 at Mestalla after trailing 1-0 until the 85th minute. Substitute Luka Modrić broke through the defense and scored the equalizer to cancel out Hugo Duro’s opener. in the first half, but Jude Bellingham stole the headlines by making up for a missed penalty with a high press that paid ample reward as he regained possession and scored. A winning goal for Real Madrid.
Three answers
1. could real Madrid Avoid another defeat after the winter holidays?
In the past, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid have lost twice in the first game after the winter break. This year, it came at the most inopportune time possible, just as the team seemed to be gaining momentum and finding form. Furthermore, Real Madrid’s winter break was shorter than that of its rivals due to this match, which was postponed due to the floods that hit the Valencian Community last year. That meant Los Blancos and Valencia returned to action on Friday night, while their La Liga title rivals would not be in action until Saturday at the earliest, and would face lower league rivals in the Copa del King. Real Madrid seemed headed for a third defeat in the opening match of a new year, but a late comeback prevented it. Close call.
2. How would Mestalla receive Vinícius?
If there were circumstances for Vinícius to return to the stadium where the infamous racism incidents occurred, it was probably what happened on Friday night. Valencia fans’ hatred of the Brazilian was evident, with chants of “Vinícius, beach ball” to mock his failure to win the Ballon d’Or, but Valencia fans had bigger concerns when they protested against the club’s ownership. . Peter Lim and Meriton Holdings have sunk the club and they are currently bottom of the table, locked in a relegation fight that could see them relegated to the Second Division for the first time since 1987. The most vocal support sector, the ultras, refused to attend the match in protest, while others did not enter until the 19th minute. Online footage showed that stewards closed some doors before the 19th minute to prevent fans who joined the protest will enter the stadium.
3. Who would start at left back?
In the last game before the winter break, Eduardo Camavinga was tested at left back, despite both Fran García and Ferland Mendy being fit enough to be part of the matchday squad for the victory over Sevilla . It was a surprising move, but was seen as a sign that Mendy might not have been in top form. He was there for this match and started ahead of Fran García and Camavinga, who were both left on the bench. It’s easy to look at Mendy’s stats and think he played well, with a 100% duel success rate and 91% passing accuracy, but he only participated in two duels and of his 47 passes, only four reached the final third. . Camavinga replaced him in the 68th minute, and Real Madrid immediately looked more dangerous attacking from the left.
three questions
1. Why was Jude Bellingham’s penalty not retaken?
There were some Real Madrid fans calling for a replay of Jude Bellingham’s missed penalty, as replays clearly showed that Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski was in an advanced position off his line when Bellingham made contact with the ball. However, the decision not to repeat the launch was correct. Since Dimitrievski did not interfere with the ball, did not make contact when the ball left Bellingham’s boot and went straight to the right post, and also did not collect the rebound directly, his position was irrelevant. If he had touched the shot with the tip of his finger, they would have repeated it. For Jude, it was the first missed penalty in his career, ending a streak of four goals scored, two for Borussia Dortmund and two for Real Madrid. For Real Madrid, it was the third miss of the season from 12 meters, joining Mbappé’s two in Liverpool and Bilbao.
2. Why is it always Hugo Duro?
Valencia got their goal through Hugo Duro, the man who played for Castilla for one season in 2020/21 and made three first-team appearances during that campaign. Duro has now scored four goals in eight games against Real Madrid, including his last three games in a row against Los Blancos. Real Madrid chose not to take advantage of the opportunity to sign Duro from Getafe at the end of his loan and that ultimately led him to move to Valencia, where he has excelled. His record against Real Madrid has been the second best against any team, only surpassed by his five goals in six games against Atlético de Madrid. His energy and movement caught Real Madrid here, and he moved quicker in space to react to the tap-in opportunity as the ball bounced around the box.
3. What was Vinícius thinking?
It is not the first time that Vinícius has played with his actions on the field. Raising your hands towards an opponent’s face is a red card offence, whether you are Vinícius Júnior or not. No footballer can do that on the field and expect to get away with it. Vini’s reaction, who seemed to get angry and go after referee César Soto Grado, was possibly his lowest point so far. His behavior was unacceptable and defrauded the values of Real Madrid. It feeds exactly into the discourse that his rivals have clung to to justify his failure to win the Ballon d’Or. The fact that Antonio Rüdiger felt obliged to mistreat him off the field shows that his teammates are fully aware of this. Vini now faces a ban that could be extended for the way he reacted to the red card, and rightly so. It is understandable that he feels nervous at Mestalla, but if he reacts like this, Real Madrid would do better to leave him at home.