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Real Madrid Left it late but secured a decisive 2-0 victory Valencia At the Mestalla, a second-half breakthrough from Alvaro Carreras and a stoppage-time goal from Kylian Mbappe sealed the points.
The first half was crisp and short on a clear opening. Madrid controlled the ball for long stretches, but struggled to create clean chances against a compact Valencia shape.
Mbappe was the main outlet, frequently going down the left and trying to pick apart defenders, but goalkeeper Stoll Dimitrievsky met his initial effort from tight angles.
A quick passing move also freed up debutant right-back David Jimenez, whose first-time shot was saved.
Valencia, meanwhile, looked most dangerous on transitions. Arnout Danjuma and Hugo Dureau combined well on the flanks, and Lucas Beltran curled a header just wide when Unai Nunez fired over from distance.
Despite the hosts producing spells of pressure, Thibaut Courtois was rarely forced into a serious save before the interval, and the sides went level at half-time.
The match opened up a bit after the restart. Valencia almost struck first when Beltran met a low cutback and clipped the far post, their closest chance of the night.
Federico Valverde also tested Dimitrievski from long range, and Mbappe twice got behind the defense but failed to find the target.
The decisive moment came in the 65th minute. Dean Huijsen played a pass out on the left for Carreras, who surged forward, beat several defenders as he carried the ball into the penalty area and finished low into the bottom corner to put Madrid 1-0 up.
Los Blancos looked more dangerous on the break, with Mbappe running into the channels and stretching the defensive line after Brahim Diaz came forward.
Valencia still threatened intermittently, Umar Sadiq creating a late opening, but a shot from the edge of the box flew wide and their momentum faded.
Madrid confirmed the result in stoppage time. A long ball over the top caught Valencia out, Brahim timed his side and squared across the area for Mbappe, who calmly finished from close range to make it 2-0.
The result leaves Madrid a point behind Barcelona League A title race in the balance.
