Vinícius misses penalty as Valencia Stun Real Madrid 2-1

Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili produced a brilliant performance as Valencia secured a shock 2-1 victory over La Liga champions Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday, April 5th. Vinícius Jr. missed a first-half penalty for the hosts before Hugo Duro scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner for Valencia.

The defeat leaves Real Madrid level on 63 points with leaders Barcelona, having played a game more. Barcelona have the chance to extend their lead to six points when they host Real Betis later on Saturday. The result is a significant blow to Real Madrid’s title defense.

Real Madrid dominated possession but were repeatedly frustrated by Mamardashvili. Their best early chance came after Kylian Mbappé was fouled inside the box in the 12th minute, resulting in a penalty. However, Vinícius Jr., who also missed a spot-kick against Atletico Madrid three weeks ago, saw his weak effort saved by the Georgian goalkeeper, who is on loan from Liverpool.

Valencia capitalized three minutes later when defender Mouctar Diakhaby headed home from an Andre Almeida corner. Diakhaby almost scored an own goal shortly after, but VAR intervened to rule it out for an offside in the build-up. Mamardashvili continued his heroics, denying Mbappé several times before the break.

Vinícius Jr. finally equalized for Real Madrid in the 50th minute, scoring from a corner. The hosts pushed relentlessly for a winner in the second half, but Mamardashvili continued to make stunning saves.

Just as the match seemed destined for a draw, Valencia struck on the counter-attack five minutes into stoppage time. Hugo Duro headed home to secure Valencia’s first away win in La Liga this season and lift them to 15th place on 34 points.

“Now (fighting for the LaLiga title) has become more complicated, it’s a result that leaves us with a bitter taste in the mouth,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti told reporters. “I think we played a good game, we created a lot of chances… It’s frustrating but I don’t think it’s an attitude problem.”