Real Madrid played out one of the more confusing football matches in recent La Liga history on Friday night, missing a penalty and having Vinicius Jr sent off, but coming back from behind to snag a 2-1 win over Valencia.
Los Blancos looked to have lost it after 85 minutes, but late goals from first Luka Modric, then Jude Bellingham saw them claw their way to a 2-1 victory.
The home team were more adventurous in the first half, and forced Thibaut Courtois into a few tidy saves in the early goings. The Madrid keeper could do little about the opener, though, his instinctive save falling into the path of Hugo Duro, who couldn’t miss from less than five yards out. Los Blancos, for their part, created in moments, but were well denied by the active Stole Dimitrievski, who made three tidy saves in the first half.
They had a clear chance to equalise after 53 minutes, when Kylian Mbappe was nudged over in the box – but Jude Bellingham’s penalty hit the post. Further disappointment followed after Mbappe put the ball in the net, only to see it waved off for offside. Vinicius Jr seemed to have ruined the evening after being baited into a silly shove of Dimitrievski – earning himself a soft but fair red card.
But Madrid stayed alive, Luka Modric equalising off the bench with six minutes in normal time remaining. And they somehow found a winner soon after, Bellingham latching onto a horrific backpass before finishing calmly into the bottom corner to complete the unlikeliest of turnarounds.
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