Valencia Vs Real Madrid Drama: Vinicius Apologizes, Jude Bellingham Fails To Penalty

JAKARTA - Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior apologized for the red card he received in the match against Valencia. The postponed match which was held at the Mestalla Stadium, Saturday, January 4, 2025 in the morning WIB, took place dramatically and was marked by the failure of Jude Bellingham's penalty.

The full drama match which Madrid finally won 2-1. Madrid's success in winning three points was precisely determined through Bellingham's goal in the 90+6 minute.

In that match, Madrid had to play with 10 players after Vinicius Junior's red card was 1-0 behind. Vinicius' removal put Madrid under pressure.

Madrid's situation was not good. Previously Bellingham failed to complete the penalty execution. Next was Kylian Mbappe's goal which was disallowed. But Madrid showed as a team with a winning mentality. They were able to get up and Bellingham made up for his failure by scoring the goal that determined the victory at the last minute.

A game full of drama that finally brought Madrid back to the top of the standings. The victory over Valencia in the postponed match made Los Merengues collect 43 points. With a two-point advantage, Madrid shifted one city rival, Atletico Madrid.

Only Atletico who dropped to second place still had one match postponed so they could still displace Madrid. Meanwhile, Barcelona, which has 38 points, is in third place.

Valencia, which failed to get points at home, is still struggling in the relegation zone. Now, Los Che, who is ranked 19th or one strip above the team that occupies the bottom of the standings, only has 12 points. The bad result made Valencia, who won La Liga six times, threatened to go down.

In that duel, Madrid was hot late so they had experienced pressure. The forward Hugo Duro, who is a product of Castillo, Madrid's academy, became Valencia's mainstay to dismantle the visitors' defense. He threatened Thibaut Courtois' goal several times.

Courtois finally failed to stop Duro's shot in the 27th minute. The 1-0 score for Valencia lasted until the first half was over.

Entering the second half, Madrid tried to get up. Carlo Ancelotti's team was able to control the game. Their efforts actually almost paid off when they got a penalty in the 55th minute.

The penalty was given after Valencia defender Cesar Tarrega brought down Mbappe in the restricted area. Despite visiting VAR, referee Cesar Soto finally imposed a penalty for Carlos Corberan's troops.

It's just that Bellingham and not Mbappe took the execution. As a result, the England national team player failed to complete the penalty because his shot hit the post. Even though it failed, Madrid remained excited and did not lower the pressure. Even their position ball reached 63%.

The attack by the defending champions of the Champions League had paid off through Mbappe in the 59th minute. However, the French national team player's goal was disallowed because he was in an offside position.

But when Madrid were ahead in the game, they actually lost a player. At that time there was a commotion of players from both teams. They shouted and pushed each other so that the referee separated the players.

From that incident, the referee issued a red card for Vinicius who was caught slapping goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. In addition, Madrid captain Lucas Vazquez and Dimitrievski were given yellow cards.

Playing with 10 people, Madrid's game is even more alive. In the 85th minute, veteran midfielder Luka Modric broke the deadlock after completing Bellingham's assist. The score changed to 1-1 and the game is expected to end in a draw. But when he entered injury time, Bellingham made up for his mistake and gave Madrid a 2-1 lead. The score lasted until the game was over.

For his behavior that resulted in a red card, Vinicius apologized. "I'm sorry and thank the team," Vinicius said on his X (Twitter) account.

Meanwhile, Ancelotti as quoted by reuters.com said Bellingham's penalty failure actually motivated players to play better. The coach also appreciated Bellingham.

"The penalty failure provided additional motivation. He [Bellingham] tried to make every effort in the remaining minutes. The goal was the result of his hard work in that match," said Ancelotti.

Valencia itself felt disappointed with the defeat. Duro said the team actually had a chance to win the match.

"It hurts because we lose like that. We are not in good momentum. We actually have a chance," said Duro.

"We wasted chances, especially after their players were shown a red card. This is really disappointing. We have to try to stay focused on the game. Whatever happens outside, we don't think about it. But we are happy because fans support us," he said.