Real Madrid saw their title hopes in LaLiga EA Sports take a hit this Saturday (5th) after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Valencia at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Valencia opened the scoring in the first half with Mouctar Diakhaby, who headed the ball home from a corner kick. Earlier, Vinícius Júnior had a golden opportunity to put Los Blancos ahead but missed a penalty, denied by Giorgi Mamardashvili, who would go on to be one of the standout players of the match.
In the second half, Vinícius Júnior redeemed himself, finding the equalizer for Real Madrid, also from a set-piece. Carlo Ancelotti’s men pushed hard for the comeback, but were constantly frustrated by Valencia’s strong defensive performance and Mamardashvili’s brilliant saves.
In the dying minutes of stoppage time, former Real Madrid striker Hugo Duro finished off a lightning-fast counterattack to score Valencia’s winner, sealing a huge upset at the Bernabéu.
The match was also filled with VAR controversies: a Kylian Mbappé goal was ruled out for offside, and a potential penalty on Endrick was not awarded.
With this loss, Real Madrid remains behind Barcelona in the league standings, making the title race even tighter. Meanwhile, Valencia gains crucial momentum with a massive away win.
