Real Madrid won 2-1 against Valencia in the 23rd round of LaLiga, in a match in which Alvaro Carreras scored his second goal for “los blancos” against the same team he scored for in his debut. Kylian Mbappe once again added his name to the list of scorers, equaling the milestone reached in the past in the championship by players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. The “Galactics” remain one step behind FC Barcelona, ​​the current leader in the general hierarchy, while the “Bats” are “fighting relegation”, remaining in the “dangerous” zone of the current ranking.

Real Madrid traveled to Valencia to “face off” against the team trained by Carlos Corberan, a day after the victory recorded by the great rival, FC Barcelona, ​​which “hung heavy” in the economy of the fight for the title in LaLiga. The team led by Alvaro Arbeloa from the sidelines showed up for this confrontation, after, in the previous round, having scored an in-extremis success against Rayo Vallecano, at home, while the host group had lost, in approximately the same way, in Seville, against Real Betis. In the general classification, prior to this game, “los blancos” occupied the second place, with a total of 54 accumulated points, and the “bats” were in the 17th place, 31 lengths away.

On their home turf, before this match, Valencia had recorded three draws, one triumph and one defeat, the failure having been suffered in the company of Athletic Bilbao, in the quarter-finals of the “Copa del Rey”, in the last phase of the 90 minutes played. On the other hand, the club from the “Bernabeu”, in the matches that were played away from their own “home”, in the same time frame, had obtained three defeats, among which the failure recorded against Benfica Lisbon that left Real Madrid outside the first eight teams of the UEFA Champions League, and two other successes.

Carlos Corberan could not rely on Rubo, Mouctar Diakhaby and Julen Agirrezabala for this game, due to injuries suffered by these footballers, while Jude Bellingham, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior could not evolve for the visiting team. In the first leg of the current season’s domestic competition in Spain, Real Madrid had won decisively, by four goals, in a duel in which the Iberian full-back, Alvaro Carreras, would score for the first time in the “Galacticos” shirt.

The confrontation that took place at the “Estadio Mestalla” began with an opportunity that bore the signature of Kylian Mbappe, the French star being at the end, shortly after the first quarter of an hour had elapsed. Arda Guler crossed from a corner kick, the ball reached the feet of Federico Valverde, and the Uruguayan player continued the phase with the “ten” of the guests. The striker from Hexagon shot at the short corner, but Stole Dimitrievski had a great reflex and prevented the goal from being conceded. Then, following an error in the construction game of the “bats”, Gonzalo Garcia tried to surprise the opposing defense, when he passed to the same Kylian Mbappe in the lane.

After dribbling inside and placing the ball on his base foot, the execution of the top scorer in the Spanish championship was deflected by a Valencia defender, so that the ball was retained without major problems by the North Macedonian goalkeeper. Starting for the first time in the right lane, David Jimenez, a full-back promoted from the Madrid team’s academy, was passed inside the penalty area by Kylian Mbappe, after the player who had previously played for AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain had received a ball from Arda Guler. The Spanish footballer’s completion, with the width of his right foot, was saved by Stole Dimitrievski.

The scoreboard would be unlocked in the second act of the match, although Real Madrid’s dominance was total throughout the first 45 minutes. Alvaro Carreras decided to take action on his own, and after dribbling one or two opponents, the ball “luckily” fell to the full-back of the “galactic” formation. He shot on the ground, to the short corner, and the ball took the “bats'” goalkeeper by surprise, so that Real Madrid took the overall advantage, and the former Benfica Lisbon footballer managed to score his second goal in the “los blancos” shirt against the same rival against whom he “opened his accounts” since signing with the band from the Spanish capital.

The club’s only dangerous appearance at the “Estadio Mestalla” in the vicinity of the goals defended by Thibaut Courtois occurred about 20 minutes before the final whistle of the game, when, following a quality cross that was sent to the blade of grass, Lucas Beltran tried to finish from the first, but his execution went far beyond the Real Madrid goal. In the 83rd minute of the game, Kylian Mbappe was launched into free space by a teammate, but, although he was in a favorable position to score, the French striker’s shot bypassed the Valencia goals.

The “free kick” was given by the “los blancos” club in the first additional minute of the total of five that were awarded from the sidelines. Dean Huijsen perfectly threw a ball behind the opposing defense, where Brahim Diaz took over in the future position, and, after advancing with the ball at his feet, the Moroccan player decided to pass it into the mouth of Kylian Mbappe’s goal. This time, the “ten” of the guests fulfilled a simple formality and “decided” the fate of the three points, shaking the boots of the goalkeeper from North Macedonia. Thanks to this success, the footballer from Hexagon equaled the milestone reached by players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez in LaLiga, more precisely, that of scoring 23 goals in the first 23 rounds of a competitive season.

Real Madrid won the match at the “Estadio Mestalla” and remains at the top of the general hierarchy, one point behind FC Barcelona, ​​while the “bats” are in the “red” zone of the current ranking, being one point ahead of Rayo Vallecano, the occupant of the first relegation position, respectively, one length behind Real Mallorca and Elche, the teams ranked higher in LaLiga. In the next round of the Spanish championship, the students trained by Alvaro Arbeloa will receive the visit of Real Sociedad, and Valencia will travel nearby to play against local rival, Levante.