Real Madrid’s defense of their La Liga title suffered a major blow on Saturday afternoon as they were defeated 2-1 by Valencia at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Mouctar Diakhaby opened the scoring shortly after Vinicius Junior missed a penalty during a dramatic first half. The Madrid winger redeemed himself just five minutes after the break, equalizing with a close-range strike. However, Valencia snatched a late winner in the 95th minute, with Hugo Duro heading in a goal following a quick counter-attack, sealing a painful defeat for Madrid and boosting Valencia’s hopes of avoiding relegation.
How the Game Unfolded
Carlo Ancelotti made four changes to the side that won against Leganes the previous week, with Vinicius returning to the starting lineup. The Brazilian had the perfect opportunity to end his four-game goal drought when Kylian Mbappe was fouled in the box, awarding Madrid a penalty. However, Vinicius’s weak effort was easily saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili, marking his second penalty miss in a month.
Things quickly went from bad to worse for Los Blancos. Just two minutes later, Diakhaby’s powerful header gave Valencia a surprise lead, silencing the Bernabeu. Madrid’s debutant goalkeeper, 19-year-old Fran Gonzalez, was powerless to stop the goal.
Diakhaby’s involvement didn’t end there. Shortly after scoring, he almost turned the ball into his own net, but an offside call on Mbappe spared him. The defender then nearly extended Valencia’s lead, arriving just a second too late to convert a teasing corner.
Madrid’s brightest player in a frustrating first half was Mbappe, who had several efforts on goal, including one that narrowly missed and another that tested Mamardashvili. However, the hosts couldn’t find an equalizer before the break.
Ancelotti kept faith with his starting lineup after halftime, and it paid off just five minutes into the second half. Vinicius made amends for his earlier penalty miss by scoring from a corner, flicking the ball into the roof of the net following Jude Bellingham’s near-post header.
The equalizer lifted the home crowd, and Madrid started to pick up the pace. Rodrygo’s introduction around the hour mark helped improve their attacking play, and Mbappe came close to giving Madrid the lead, curling a shot just wide of the post.
With 20 minutes to go, Mamardashvili made a crucial save, denying Federico Valverde’s close-range shot after some neat buildup from Mbappe. As Valencia dropped deeper into defense in the final minutes, Madrid struggled to break them down.
In a dramatic turn of events, it was Valencia who found the late winner. Rafa Mir delivered a perfect cross for Duro, who headed the ball home from six yards, handing Valencia their first away win of the season and their first victory at the Bernabeu in 17 years.
