Kylian Mbappe netted his 38th goal of the campaign as Real Madrid secured a seventh consecutive La Liga win, reducing the deficit to league leaders Barcelona to a single point.
Match Report
The France international finished from a low cross deep into second-half stoppage time to seal victory, after Alvaro Carreras had given the visitors the lead shortly after the interval.
Madrid found it difficult to unlock a well-organised Valencia side, but the breakthrough came 20 minutes into the second half when Carreras forced his way beyond two defenders and guided a low right-footed shot into the corner.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s team missing suspended Vinicius Junior and injured Jude Bellingham dominated possession early on but failed to test Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
Pressure soon followed, with Arda Guler seeing a low effort deflected wide before Dimitrievski pushed away a fierce Mbappe strike. The keeper then produced an outstanding save to divert David Jimenez’s first-time attempt past the far post.
Valencia’s clearest opening of the first half fell to Arnaut Danjuma, though Raul Asencio deflected his left-footed shot wide. Early in the second half, Lucas Beltran flicked another Danjuma cross just past the far post.
Five minutes after Carreras’ goal, Beltran nearly drew Valencia level, but his first-time left-footed strike clipped the outside of the post.
Mbappe’s late winner confirmed all three points and ensured Real matched Barcelona’s win over Mallorca on Saturday, leaving both sides separated by just one point at the end of the weekend.
Valencia remain 17th in the table and sit only one point above the relegation zone, though they have played one more match than the three teams below them.