OK, we’re going to wrap this up now. A really good game that suggested the title race will go down to the wire. Thanks for reading. See you later.
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Real Madrid go three points clear of Barcelona, and they have Marcelo to thank. They looked to have messed it up: after taking the lead, Ronaldo missed a penalty to make it 2-0, and then with eight minutes remaining Dani Parejo fired a free kick into the top corner. It seemed as though they’d let Barcelona back in, but Marcelo cut in from the left side and beat Dani Alves with a low shot, and everyone inside the Bernabeu breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure’s now back on Barça, who visit Espanyol later.
Full-time: Real Madrid 2-1 Valencia
Real win it, and Marcelo deserves all the credit.
90 min +3 Real make another sub to waste time. They’re almost there.
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90 min +1 Corner to Valencia. Parejo curls it into Navas’s arms.
90 min Four minutes of stoppage time. Is there time for another Valencia comeback?
88 min Well, Madrid just keep fighting, don’t they? And Marcelo came up big when his team needed something. What a fine player the Brazilian is.
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87 min So funny: about 20 minutes earlier Marcelo cut in on his right foot and sent it out for a throw. This time, he cut inside, took a touch, and curled a beauty past Dani Alves from 18 yards. Brilliant goal, and mighty relief for the Madrid fans.
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-1 Valencia (Marcelo 86)
Marcelo! Real Madrid are back in the driving seat!
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84 min It was a great strike from Parejo, and he deserves great credit for finding the corner. But Navas must be disappointed, especially since he sets such high standards.
83 min Well! What a moment. Parejo hit it really well into the top corner, with pace and dip, but I wonder about Keylor Navas: he got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out. Maybe he was worried about colliding with the post. Whatever: Valencia are level, and Barcelona’s ears have pricked up.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-1 Valencia (Daniel Parejo 81)
What a free kick! Parejo draws Valencia level!
80 min Casemiro concedes a silly foul on the edge of the box, and Modric is booked for standing on the ball. Chance for Valencia from the free kick.
77 min Ronaldo misses from three yards! Marco Asensio put in a delicious cross from the left side, and Ronaldo was charging in at the back post, but it just hopped up at the last moment, and Ronaldo couldn’t quite reach it: it came off his chest, or arm maybe, and went wide of the post. Both Ronaldo and Lato crashed into the post for good measure, but they’ll be OK.
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75 min Morata, who’s replaced Benzema, takes an air shot when well placed. That was amusingly rubbish.
73 min Keylor Navas charges out of goal and claims decisively in front of Munir. Real Madrid are still in control, but they’re not out of the woods yet.
70 min Ooh, that’s a chance for Rodrigo, on for Nani, with his first touch! Garay played it long, Rodrigo ran beyond the defence, but then with Navas struggling he headed it over! He’d only been on the pitch a matter of seconds but might have done better.
68 min Marcelo cuts inside from the left and shoots for goal on his right foot, and it’s out for a throw-in.
66 min First change for Real Madrid: James is replaced by Marco Asensio.
64 min Mangala trips Modric right on the edge of the box, and is yellow carded. Free kick, and James looks deeply interested. James with it, but it’s into the wall. Groan.
61 min Well, Valencia might just have been given succour after that Ronaldo miss. They’re not out of this by any means.
59 min Get this: Diego Alves has saved 24 of the 49 penalties he’s faced in his career. What a ratio! And he did very well just now: he read it correctly and got down to push it clear.
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57 min Not a great penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo. Well, they never are if you miss them, obviously, but he didn’t hit it with any conviction, and Diego Alves went left and got hands to it. Ronaldo’s face is a picture of anguish.
Cristiano Ronaldo misses the penalty!
Diego Alves goes to his left and saves it!
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Penalty to Real Madrid!
Parejo on Modric. Such a gormless foul. Maybe a bit soft, but Parejo had his hands all over the Croatian. Completely unnecessary.
54 min Benzema clangs one off the post! So unlucky.
52 min The snarling Casemiro is booked for some infraction or other. Valencia play the free kick into the box, and it falls to Carlos Soler, but he shoots over. A presentable chance.
48 min Kroos has space in front of the Valencia defence, and he hits one with his left foot, but Garay gets in the way. Then Ronaldo is denied by a block by Mangala. Real amping it up at the start of the second half.
46 min We’re back. No changes from either side.
Real lead at the break, and they deserve it. Valencia started well, and Keylor Navas saved superbly from Santi Mina within a minute, but gradually Real took control, and Cristiano Ronaldo got the goal with a fine header from Carvajal’s peach of a cross. Valencia have done OK, and they’re not out of it, but Real have dominated. As it stands, they’re going three points clear at the top.
See you in 15!
Half-time: Real Madrid 1-0 Valencia
That’s the whistle.
45 min Munir, who’s been quiet, finds a pocket of space on the edge of the penalty box, and shoots for goal with his left foot, but his effort is wide. Disappointing.
43 min Real shout for handball against Lato, but it was off his chest. Jesus Gil Manzano said no, and it was the correct decision.
40 min It’s been nice to watch James in this half. He’s such a richly talented player; it’s a shame he doesn’t get more game time. I know he’s not perfect, but his left foot is like a corkscrew. (In a good way, obviously.)
37 min A slight lull in tempo. Real happy to retain possession for a spell.
33 min Valencia started quite well, and they’ve had two very good chances, but Real look to have taken control. The home side are on top.
31 min That was Ronaldo’s 20th league goal of the season, by the way. Messi has 33.
30 min Valencia win a free kick on the edge of the box, and Parejo hits it into the wall. A waste.
28 min Super goal. Carvajal, who’s been top-class so far, had time and space on the right flank, and teased a gem of a cross into the six-yard box. Ronaldo got free of Garay and just plonked a header past Diego Alves. Effortless.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Valencia (Cristiano Ronaldo 27)
Ronaldo gives Real the lead!
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25 min That was a lovely clean strike from James, but just a yard the wrong side of the post.
24 min Carvajal, who’s been prominent in these opening minutes, nutmegs Lato on the edge of the box, and is promptly upended. Lato is booked. Another good opportunity for Real from the set piece, and James curls it, but it’s just wide.
21 min Ronaldo hits it with pace and fizz, but it’s just over the bar.
20 min Tremendous reverse pass from James to set Marcelo away down the left side, but he can’t pick out a team-mate. Then Parejo is booked for a crude tackle on James. Chance here for a shot at goal, 25 yards out.
17 min Oh, that was a chance for Orellana. It was a beautiful through pass from Nani, and Orellana got between the centre backs, but he got his shot all wrong, and it went well wide. He should have done much better.
15 min Real Madrid beginning to dominate. Kroos and Modric are in control in midfield.
12 min First glimpse of Ronaldo, and he creates a chance for Benzema: a fine cross from the right side, but Benzema can’t quite get the power in his header, and it’s through to Diego Alves.
9 min It’s starting to chuck it down. Rain falling heavily in Madrid, and Real win a corner. Kroos teases it in, but it’s cleared without fuss.
7 min Nani takes Carvajal on the left side, and beats him, but his cross is rotten. Miles too long. But this has been a positive start by the visitors.
5 min Valencia, in their black change shirts with orange trim, have looked accomplished in possession. Montoya wins a corner. Looking back at that Mina chance, Navas did really well to make that double save. Excellent goalkeeping.
3 min Carvajal, forward from right-back, pops up at the back post, but his lay-off is blocked and cleared. It’s been a nice open start.
1 min And we’re off! The Bernabeu pitch looks as green as Hawaii. Or the Shropshire Hills. And that’s an early chance for Santi Mina! A long ball over the top, Mina got between the centre backs, and Navas had to make a double save! He saved the first one with his feet, and then got fingertips to the second effort to tip it wide! Valencia could have been ahead within a minute.
A minute away. Here’s Dac Hewison: “Is it an advantage for RM that Bale is injured? It gives James the chance to shine. For me James bring something to the pitch that Bale doesn’t have, although neither is playing well at the moment. Hopefully James’s form gets better for Manchester United next year.”
The players are emerging from the tunnel. We’re nearly there. Sergio Ramos leads the home team out – let’s hope he’s calmed down a little after his red card last Sunday.
John McEnerney has a prediction: “No mistakes from here on in for Real, or they could end up trophy-less. Expect RM to make hard work of this but get the win. 3-1.”
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Some news from earlier: Granada, managed by Tony Adams, have been relegated. They lost 2-1 against Real Sociedad, and their six-season spell in the top flight has come to an end. Adams, who came in on 10 April, has taken charge of four matches, and lost all four.
Real make changes from the team that thrashed Depor 6-2 in midweek, and it’s probably about the strongest team available to Zidane. Back come Ronaldo, Modric, Sergio Ramos et al, but James Rodriguez keeps his place after his two goals at the Riazor and the injury to Gareth Bale. Valencia are without Enzo Perez and Mario Suarez, but Munir El Haddadi could make his parent club Barcelona extremely happy with a goal today.
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Real Madrid: 1-Keylor Navas, 4-Sergio Ramos, 6-Nacho, 12-Marcelo, 2-Daniel Carvajal, 14-Casemiro, 8-Toni Kroos, 19-Luka Modric, 9-Karim Benzema, 7-Cristiano Ronaldo, 10-James Rodríguez. Subs: 13-Kiko Casilla, 22-Isco, 21-Álvaro Morata, 16-Mateo Kovacic, 23-Danilo, 17-Lucas Vázquez, 20-Marco Asensio.
Valencia: 1-Diego Alves, 5-Eliaquim Mangala, 24-Ezequiel Garay, 26-Toni Lato, 21-Martin Montoya, 15-Fabián Orellana, 18-Carlos Soler, 10-Daniel Parejo, 22-Santi Mina 17-Nani, 9-Munir El Haddadi. Subs: 19-Rodrigo, 39-Eugeni Valderrama Doménech, 13-Jaume, 14-José Gayà, 4-Aderlan Santos, 11-Zakaria Bakkali, 20-Álvaro Medrán.
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano
Hello and welcome
After last Sunday’s stonker of a clásico, when Lionel Messi slayed the dragon in the last minute and sent Barcelona into ecstasy, the Primera Liga title race has been given an extra injection of intrigue.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are level on points going into this weekend’s round of fixtures, and who knows where the title will end up. Real have a game in hand, but they also have a two-legged Champions League semi-final against Atlético to come, and minds can wander from domestic duties. Real can go top if they avoid defeat against Valencia today, at least for a few hours – Barcelona visit Espanyol in the evening game.
Defeat by Barcelona last week was a serious blow to Real’s title aspirations, but Zidane says his team aren’t perturbed psychologically. Zizou said: “We still have a month and a half to get through and I’m convinced we can do it. Every season there are times when you suffer but we can be happy with what we’re doing.
“We are doing well physically and mentally. We know what we’ve done up until now has been phenomenal, and we are in our best moment of the season emotionally.”
Valencia are 12th – clear of relegation but out of contention for Europe. Real should have more than enough to win, but we’ve said that before. Kick-off’s in about 45 minutes. Join us then.
Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, catch up on how Real thrashed Deportivo in midweek:
Real Madrid kept pace with Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Wednesday while at the other end of the table Osasuna’s return to the top flight lasted just a season as their relegation was confirmed.
Barcelona took full advantage of playing first and threw down the gauntlet by temporarily opening up a three-point lead at the summit with a 7-1 Nou Camp thrashing of Osasuna, so it was up to Real Madrid to respond - and bounce back from Sunday’s dramatic home defeat in el clásico - in the late kick-off.
There was no Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale or Karim Benzema but it was no problem for Zinedine Zidane’s team as they won 6-2 at Deportivo La Coruña to close the gap.
The perennial substitute Álvaro Morata again proved he has more ability than that of an understudy by opening the scoring inside a minute and James Rodríguez, who himself struggles for first-team opportunities, made it 2-0 before 15 minutes were up.
