VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) – Late strikes from Luka Modric and Jude Bellingham earned 10-man Real Madrid a 2-1 comeback win at relegation-threatened Valencia on Friday as the visitors moved top of the LaLiga standings.
Real had to fight back after Hugo Duro put Valencia ahead in the 27th minute by tapping into an open goal after Thibaut Courtois had blocked Javi Guerra’s first close-range effort.
Real pushed hard for an equaliser, but Bellingham missed a golden chance to score with a poor penalty that hit the post after Enzo Barrenechea’s foul on Kylian Mbappe in the 55th minute.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side were then reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when Vinicius Jr was shown a straight red card for slapping Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
But substitute Modric finally brought the visitors level when he beat Dimitrievski with a low shot off Bellingham’s through ball five minutes from time.
The England midfielder then sealed the win by scoring seven minutes into stoppage time, to leave Real Madrid top of the table with 43 points, two ahead of Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Toby Davis)
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