Real Madrid dramatic comeback win over Valencia

At home, Valencia is always a tough opponent for Real Madrid. In the first half, Real only had one notable combination, which was a pass from Dani Ceballos to Vinicius.

Real's remaining chances mostly came from long-range shots. Federico Valverde "fired" as soon as he had space but it was not enough to bring a goal for the away team.

On the other hand, Valencia defended uncomfortably, even creating more chances than Real thanks to their fast counter-attacks. Thibaut Courtois played brilliantly with a series of saves but was helpless against Hugo Duro's close-range rebound in the 27th minute.

Real had a good chance to equalise early in the second half, when Mbappe won a penalty. With a 100% penalty success rate, Bellingham was given the responsibility. However, the England international hit the post.

The referee made a controversial decision. Slow-motion video showed that goalkeeper Dimitrievski was not on the line when Bellingham took the kick. However, Real were not allowed to retake the penalty.

In the 60th minute, Mbappe made his mark again with a skillful dribble past the goalkeeper and then finished into an empty net. VAR intervened and took away the joy of the away team's fans. The number 9 striker was discovered to be offside when receiving the ball from Vinicius.

Real had 30 minutes to fight back but put themselves in a difficult position. In the 79th minute, Vinicius lost his temper when provoked by Dimitrievski, then rushed forward and pushed his hand into the head of the home team's goalkeeper. After consulting VAR, the referee returned to the field and sent off Real's number 7.

It seemed all hope for Real was over, but it wasn't. Luka Modric came on and needed just a few minutes to prove his worth as a world-class star. In the 85th minute, the Croatian veteran broke the offside trap, received the ball from Bellingham, and coolly finished, bringing the match back to the starting line.

Valencia's nightmare came in the 90+6 minute. Dimitri Foulquier, the most solid defender of Valencia, unexpectedly made a mistake. Bellingham won the ball and then skillfully finished with the inside of his right foot, sealing the score at 2-1.

The emotional comeback helped Real Madrid take the top spot on the La Liga rankings with 43 points, 2 and 5 points ahead of Atletico Madrid and Barca respectively.