Real Madrid won at Mestalla on LaLiga matchday 12 going top of the table in the process., in a fixture which had been postponed due to the floods, Our team went into half-time trailing 1-0, but in the second half, and with everything going against them, they showed once again that they will not give up until the end. Despite being a player down due to the sending off of Vini Jr. in the 79th minute, Ancelotti's men came from behind with goals from Modrić in the 85th minute and Bellingham in added time. Victory and leadership to start the year.
It didn't feel like the first game back after the Christmas break. The first half was played at a very high tempo and chances started to come and go. The first was for Ancelotti' s side after five minutes when Lucas Vázquez teed up Valverde but his powerful shot was blocked by Dimitrievski. The home side responded twice and on both occasions were met with two great stops by Courtois, first after Hugo Duro's shot inside the area in minute 7 and five minutes later in a one-on-one with Foulquier.
The game showed no signs of slowing down and before the half-hour mark Valencia took the lead. Courtois made a spectacular save from Javi Guerra's shot from inside the area, but Hugo Duro took advantage of the rebound to score in the 27th minute. The goal sparked controversy as our team appealed for a foul on Rodrygo. From that moment until the break, Ancelotti‘ s eleven went in search of an equaliser with Tchouameni and Valverde coming closest with long-range shots in the 34’ and 38'minute respectively. The best chance came after a great pass from Ceballos who put Vini Jr. one-on-one with Dimitrievski, but he again saved his team.
 

On the front foot

The pace of the game dipped following the restart, but Ancelotti’s boys continued to push forward and pile the pressure on, resulting in Tárrega upending Mbappé in the area with 52 minutes gone. Bellingham stepped up to take the spot-kick but his effort came back off the post. Shortly afterwards, with 60 minutes on the clock, the leveller looked to be in the back of the net, only to be ruled out for an extremely tight off-side call against Mbappé, who skipped past the home side’s goalkeeper with a breathtaking piece of skill. The scoreboard still read 1-0 but our team were well on top now and the chances were flowing, Rüdiger whipping one in on 67’ but Rodrygo’s powerful header flew inches wide of the target.

Stunning comeback

The very least our boys deserved by this point was a draw, but the 78th minute delivered another controversial moment. Vini Jr. was pushed in the back by Dimitrievski while he was on the ground, and he reacted in kind, shoving the home shot-stopper as he stood up. Soto Grado went to the VAR monitor and opted to send the Brazilian off. The turnaround would have to come despite the one-man disadvantage - and once again our team showed they will always stand up and be counted. The leveller came on 85’ when Bellingham set up Modrić, who got the better of the goalie in a one-on-one. Then, in time added-on, Bellingham pounced on a mistake Guillamón to clinch all three points for the new LaLiga leaders.