Alvaro Carreras and Kylian Mbappe\u2019s goals earned Real Madrid a battling 2-0 win at Valencia on Sunday to close the gap to La Liga leaders Barcelona to one point.<\/p>\n
After the Spanish champions had beaten Mallorca on Saturday, Alvaro Arbeloa\u2019s side eked out a tight victory at Mestalla to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals.<\/p>\n
Missing suspended forward Vinicius Junior and injured midfielder Jude Bellingham, Los Blancos lacked sparkle but did just enough to claim three points on Spain\u2019s east coast.<\/p>\n
England international Trent Alexander-Arnold made his return after injury as a substitute in the second half of Madrid\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n
Arbeloa\u2019s side had the better chances in the first half but failed to create danger on a consistent basis in a gritty encounter.<\/p>\n
Arda Guler\u2019s shot deflected narrowly wide, while Valencia stopper Stole Dimitrievski saved well with his legs from Mbappe\u2019s fierce drive.<\/p>\n
Madrid right-back David Jimenez, from the club\u2019s youth academy, came closest to scoring after French superstar Mbappe teed him up, but the Macedonian goalkeeper denied him too.<\/p>\n
Midway through the second half, Carreras conjured a goal out of nothing to give Madrid the lead.<\/p>\n
Drifting inside from the left of the box, the defender used his weaker right foot to stroke the ball inside Dimitrievski\u2019s near post.<\/p>\n
Valencia might have levelled but Lucas Beltran\u2019s effort on the stretch beat Thibaut Courtois and clipped the post.<\/p>\n
Arbeloa brought on Alexander-Arnold for his first appearance since early December following a thigh injury, as Madrid looked to close out the game.<\/p>\n
They eventually secured the three points in stoppage time as Brahim Diaz teed up La Liga\u2019s top scorer Mbappe, who finished calmly for his 23rd goal in the competition this season.<\/p>\n
Valencia\u2019s fans, some of whom had waved white handkerchieves during the match in protest at the club\u2019s situation, headed for the exits with Los Che 17th, one point above the drop zone.
\nThe post Real Madrid keep pressure on Barca with tight win at Valencia appeared first on Vanguard News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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