Everything happened in the final 15 minutes: Diagabi's injury, a penalty for Valencia that was disallowed by VAR and a Bellingham goal that didn't even get on the scoreboard because Gil Manzano indicated he had blown the final whistle.
VALENCIA — With his fists raised, Vinicius Jr. was the leader on Saturday and flourished at the Mestalla with a double to help Real Madrid avoid defeat against Valencia, who took the lead thanks to goals from Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk in a match that ended in controversy. tanganza from referee, Jesus Gil ManzanoThe final whistle was blown when Jude Bellingham scored.
The Fallas presented Saturday's Valencia-Real Madrid clash in the Valencian capital as a high-voltage clash. Valencia fans, who had arrived four hours earlier to protest against key player Peter Lim, greeted Vinicius with cheers and whistles as he returned to the Mestalla nine months after receiving racist abuse.
With heartfelt tributes to the victims of the Campanar fire, a leader who wanted to extend his distance in LaLiga by returning to Bellingham and the Valencia he remembered, the match began during the centenary. Last season's success will continue in Europe.
There wasn't much football to be seen in the first few minutes with constant interruptions due to fouls. Just four minutes into the game, Yaremchuk received a yellow card for a challenge on Tchouameni and Kaya was on the field for minutes after being elbowed by Rodrigo.
Despite the tense atmosphere and discomfort, Real Madrid took the ball to dominate Valencia in a match that was picking up pace. Real Madrid rallied and piled the passes, and after a quarter of an hour Mamardashvili had the first chance with a soft header from Kamavinga.
Despite Madrid's unstoppable dominance, Valencia held off an excellent Mosquera in defence. Meanwhile, the Black and White visit was not without risk. Rubén Baraja's team rushed in, decided poorly and seemed afraid to finish the play.
But Valencia was improving its senses, it revolved more and more around Lunin's goal and from the loss of the fundamental Vinicius, the Mestalla went mad. The ball ended up in the boots of Fran Perez, who finished poorly and his shot went straight to the head of Hugo Duro, who put Valencia ahead in the 27th minute.
The goal was a heavy blow for Real Madrid, who had no time to recover and got a second three minutes later. Valencia went even more crazy with Yaremchuk capitalizing on a transfer error by Carvajal to triple Lunin to make it 2-0.
In desperation, Real Madrid tried to close the gap, but Camavinga and Kroos were unsuccessful with their shots. Yes, it was Mamardashvili who cleared a shot from Valverde. When Ancelotti's side looked out of sorts, Vinicius popped up in the last minute of extra time to close the gap at will in the 50th minute.
The Brazilian defied the cheering stands as she scooped the ball out of the net, already in the center of the field, and turned towards her to celebrate the goal with her fist raised in a show of resistance against racism.
Under heavy rain, the match resumed with Mamardashvili's brilliant save against Bellingham, after a sophisticated cut saw the Georgian goalkeeper stretch out a leg to prevent the tie. Lunin also made a stunning save against newcomer Diego Lopez.
Despite the black and white opportunity, Real Madrid lived in the Mamardashvili area. His dominance was overwhelming, but he couldn't change the score until Vinicius reappeared. The undisputed hero of the match leveled the match in the 76th minute with a cross header from the newly joined Brahim.
It all happened in the last 15 minutes: a worrying injury to Tyagabi who had to leave the field on a stretcher after Tchouameni involuntarily fell on his leg, a penalty for Valencia disallowed by VAR, two clear chances by Madrid loanee Peter Federico and a goal by Bellingham that didn't go up on the scoreboard as Gil Manzano signaled the final whistle. .
