Real Madrid took the three points from the Bernabéu in a duel against Valencia tense in the previous days due to the memory of the racist incidents against Vinícius in Mestalla last season, but in which in the end everything was reduced to a football match in which Madrid beat Valencia. Madrid was much superior and in the few phases in which it was not, Lunin's stops prevented major upsets. The Ukrainian goalkeeper has vindicated himself in these last two games.
It was especially the night of Vinícius, who was seen with enthusiasm, author of a double in his best game of the season, vertical and indefensible.
Valencia was represented in the stands by 479 fans in a corner of the fourth amphitheater, the usual place where Madrid places the visiting fans. They lavished insults on Vinícius, but without the racist tone of Mestalla, more like “Vinícius you are stupid, you are stupid”, when the Brazilian failed in some action.
The Bernabéu received Pipo Baraja's team with boos, but certainly without the hostility with which bigger rivals, such as Atlético or Barcelona, are received. The stands did chant Vinícius several times with “Vini dance them, Vini dance them”, especially after his goal scored with his chest. He also claimed the little hand. And to top it off he chanted “Pedja Mijatovic, Pedja Mijatovic.”
In the whites, Bellingham was dropped from the list mid-afternoon due to shoulder discomfort and Ancelotti repeated the same eleven with which he beat Braga here in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Brahim in place of the Englishman.
Madrid's departure was brilliant. He scored in the second minute on a shot by Carvajal, the Leganés side's second this season. For a quarter of an hour, Ancelotti's team was a storm that could have put the game to rest. He had several chances, including a Toni Kroos free-kick that hit the crossbar.
After the first twenty minutes, Madrid slowed down and the young Pipo squad got rid of their nerves, took a step forward and took over the center of the field. Valencia had three clear chances to tie, all from Hugo Duro, a former La Fábrica youth player. Lunin aborted the first two and in the third the forward missed the shot by a few centimeters.
With Madrid a bit discouraged and looking for counterattacks, it was 2-0 in the 42nd minute with a cross from Rodrygo and a strange curling shot from Vinícius. Valencia was still saved from receiving the third before the break. Rodrygo had it in his boots in a free hit that the squad looked for and narrowly missed.
The second half lasted five minutes, the time that was enough for Madrid to score two new goals and secure the victory. The first from Vinícius on a personal play and the second from Rodrygo after a failure in the serve by Mamardashvili, the usually confident Georgian goalkeeper, who gave him the ball.
Baraja introduced three changes to fix the mess, but that was already Madrid's party, with the emboldened public chanting their team's passes loudly even if they were in the center of the field.
Modric, Fran García and Lucas Váquez came on, but Madrid played with a lower intensity. Vinícius retired to receive a standing ovation from the Bernabéu ten minutes from time. Rodrygo scored the fifth and then Hugo Duro scored the only one for the Valencians while their fans called for the resignation of Peter Lim. Madrid remains second, two points behind Girona.
