Real Madrid defeated Levante, final score 2-0, in the match that counted for the 20th round of the Spanish championship, at the “Bernabeu”, where spirits were high from the first minute, and the tension coming from the stands was constant, as a result of the performances of the “los blancos” team in recent times. Kylian Mbappe and Raul Asencio “secured” the victory for the “galactic” group and allowed Alvaro Arbeloa to make his “rightful” debut in his own “home” as the club’s technician.

Real Madrid and Levante faced each other in the first round of the second leg of the LaLiga regular season, at the Bernabeu, in what was the first home match for Alvaro Arbeloa as coach of the “galactic” club. After the defeat suffered in the final of the “Spanish Super Cup” in the company of Barcelona, ​​”los blancos” parted ways, “by mutual consent”, with Xabi Alonso, and, a few days later, with the new manager on the technical bench, the team chaired by Florentino Perez lost in the round of 16 of the “King of Spain” against Albacete, final score 2-3.

Before the match at home, Real Madrid were in second place in the league with 45 points, four behind Barcelona, ​​while Valencia were in the relegation zone, in 19th place with 14 points after 18 matches. In the most recent round of the domestic competition, Los Blancos had decisively defeated Real Betis, with a final score of 5-2, in a match in which the striker promoted from the team’s academy, Gonzalo Garcia, shone and scored three goals.

On the other hand, Luis Castro’s team had drawn 1-1 in the previous round of LaLiga at home against Espanyol. Alvaro Arbeloa could not rely on Trent Alexander-Arnold, Brahim Diaz, Eder Militao, Andriy Lunin, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo and Antonio Rudiger for this game. The Portuguese coach’s unavailability from the other camp was six in number, Roger Brugue, Unai Udondo, Victor Garcia, Matias Moreno, Varela Pampin, Oriol Rey being the footballers he could not rely on at game time.

In the current round of the LaLiga season, the Madrid club had recorded a clear success, final score 4-1, at the “Estadi Ciutat de Valencia”, in a game in which Kylian Mbappe, with a “double”, Vinicius Junior and Franco Mastantuono “deciding” the match in favor of the “galactics”. The last defeat recorded by the “Madridians” at the “Bernabeu” took place in December of last year, when Manchester City prevailed in the Spanish capital, and the most recent success of the Levante, in a duel that was played away from Valencia, was marked in the company of the “Los Blancos” team, final score 3-0.

Upon the arrival of the “los blancos” team bus, some of the Real Madrid supporters expressed their dissatisfaction with the results recorded in the recent period by whistling, the tension before the start of the confrontation reaching maximum levels. In fact, during the warm-up, Kylian Mbappe collapsed on the pitch, at the end of a duel in which Dean Huijsen was also involved, the French striker being announced in the first “11” of the team prepared by Alvaro Arbeloa, although he accused problems in the knee area since the beginning of this calendar year. When the Real Madrid players who had been sent onto the field since the first minute were announced by the stadium announcer, whistles were heard from the stands of the arena.

The first goal chance of this confrontation came in the seventh minute of the match, when Kylian Mbappe ideally took over a ball he received from Jude Bellingham, and, after dribbling inside, he shot to the far corner, but Alan Matturro’s deflection led to a corner kick being executed. From a free kick sent from the edge of the penalty area, Martinez Andres shot directly into the wall formed by the Real Madrid players, so that, later, the second attempt of the hosts’ “ten” ended in the grass.

Another goal-scoring opportunity for the hosts came in the 33rd minute of the match, when Raul Asencio launched a ball over the opposing defense, and the “decar” of the team led from the sidelines by Alvaro Arbeloa decided to shoot strongly, from a volley, but the ball could not be framed in the space of the goal defended by Matthew Ryan. Carlos Alvarez offered a quick reply, when the creative midfielder of the Valencia team received a ball in the free zone and shot with great effect, but his execution went just over the crossbar of the opposing goal. Levante created another goal-scoring opportunity in the sequences that followed, Martinez Andres being at the finish from a favorable position, but his attempt went around the goal.

Martinez Andres created problems for Thibaut Courtois’s goal-scoring efforts near the end of the first half, his free kick going just wide of the net, and the home fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief. Eduardo Camavinga and Gonzalo Garcia were taken off by the home coach at half-time, and Franco Mastantuono and Arda Guler were brought on in their place. Aurelien Tchouameni tried his luck from about 30 metres away from the opposing goal, but his shot went over the crossbar.

Arda Guler came close to opening the scoring when he combined with Kylian Mbappe in a tight space, and after the French striker laid the ball to the Turkish player, the latter’s wide, low shot was parried in front by Matthew Ryan. Then, Kylian Mbappe was fouled inside the box, after he had run past an opponent, and the center pointed towards the spot with lime. From 11 meters, the “tenor” of the band from the capital of Spain converted the penalty he obtained without emotion, and the “galactics” took the advantage in this duel.

The second goal of the “los blancos” band came from Raul Asencio, who, at the end of a cross launched from the corner of the field by Arda Guler, rose the most and shook the opponent’s net, doubling his team’s advantage. The same Turkish footballer sent a dangerous shot from approximately 25 meters away from the guests’ goal, but the Australian goalkeeper of Levante retained the ball without any problems. The Valencia team squandered a chance to reduce their deficit 20 minutes before the final whistle, when Iker Losada shot disappointingly, although he was in a promising position.

Franco Mastantuono shot explosively from distance, as the match entered the last quarter of an hour, but his execution “hit the target” of the crossbar of the goal defended by Matthew Ryan. Real Madrid ended this game with a triumph, the first success after two consecutive defeats, and on the day he celebrated his 43rd birthday, Alvaro Arbeloa achieved, for the first time, a victory, as manager of the “galactic” formation. “Los Blancos” are located one point behind the current LaLiga leaders, Barcelona, ​​​​with an extra game played, while the Valencia group remains in the “basement” of the current hierarchy. In the upcoming round, the students trained by the former Spanish right-back will play away against Villareal, and Levante will face Elche at home.