Jude Bellingham was despatched off after the ultimate whistle after being denied a late winner in Actual Madrid’s 2-2 draw at Valencia.
The England midfielder, making his return from damage, thought he had headed residence a cross deep into stoppage time on the Mestalla however the referee had already blown for full time.
Actual gamers surrounded the official in a chaotic aftermath and Bellingham was proven the pink card earlier than the gamers left the sphere.
It made for a dramatic ending to a compelling LaLiga conflict during which the leaders had fought again from 2-0 down with two Vinicius Junior objectives.
Valencia had surprised Carlo Ancelotti’s facet by pouncing on two errors to attain twice in fast succession by Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk.
The consequence meant Actual missed the prospect to maneuver 9 factors clear on the high and second-placed Girona can have the prospect to chop the hole once they play Mallorca on Sunday.
It was an emotional night time for Valencia, who had been returning to motion for the primary time since a lethal fireplace of their metropolis, with tributes paid to victims and different individuals affected earlier than kick-off.
The sport acquired off to a sluggish begin because the guests struggled to create any significant alternatives regardless of dominating possession.
It was not till the twenty third minute that Actual triggered any alarm within the Valencia field as Vinicius, returning to a floor the place he was racially abused final season, went down beneath a problem from Dimitri Foulquier. No penalty was given.
Valencia took the lead in opposition to the run of play within the twenty seventh minute after Actual misplaced possession.
There was a component of fortune about it as Foulquier crossed to the far submit and Fran Perez miskicked his try and clip again throughout aim. Duro, who had not been anticipating the ball, reacted rapidly to go residence.
Dani Carvajal then compounded the setback moments later with an underhit backpass that Yaremchuk seized upon to spherical Andriy Lunin and slot in.
Actual recovered and Bellingham, again within the facet after three weeks out, created an opportunity for Federico Valverde however Giorgi Mamardashvili was equal to his effort.
The stress paid off in first-half stoppage time as a Carvajal cross took deflections off a defender and Mamardashvili and located its strategy to Vinicius for a easy tap-in.
@ViniJr #ValenciaRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/LYPgMgIIQN
— Actual Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) March 2, 2024
Actual upped the tempo after the break and Vinicius lashed a shot huge earlier than Bellingham, who has loved a shocking first season on the Spanish giants, wrong-footed the defence and compelled Mamardashvili to save lots of along with his legs.
Diego Lopez introduced a superb save from Lunin on the different finish however additional Actual stress paid off when Vinicius rose to go in a Brahim Diaz cross.
There was an extended delay late on after Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby suffered a serious-looking damage and was carried off on a stretcher.
Actual had a scare in stoppage time when Valencia had been awarded a penalty for a foul on Duro by Nacho however the choice was overturned by VAR.
It was not the top of the drama however Bellingham’s effort got here too late to rely.
