Valencia 0-3 Real Madrid: Güler breaks Valencia's resistance as Real draw level with Barça at the top

The game turned on a rebound off the wall. In the 26th minute, Pablo Maffeo brought down Kylian Mbappé on the edge of the box and was booked. The Frenchman's free kick hit the Valencia wall, the ball dropped to Federico Valverde, and the Uruguayan, lined up at right-back, drilled a low shot across goal from outside the area, beyond the reach of Stole Dimitrievski. It was two minutes shy of the half-hour.

Until then, Valencia had stuck to their plan. The first real scare had even come from the hosts: a long-range effort from Aaron Mayol, gathered by Thibaut Courtois with a dive. Guido Rodríguez then had a goal ruled out for offside. After the opener, Aguirre's block dropped even deeper, and Real doubled their lead in the 36th. Jude Bellingham raced down the left to the byline, his cut-back cut through the defence, and Arda Güler met it first time with his right foot.

The first half ended with a yellow card for Andriy Lunin, on the Madrid bench, booked for dissent in the 45th minute.

After the restart, Javier Aguirre took off a centre-back, Justin de Haas, for a winger, Luis Rioja. Valencia were no more threatening and mostly left themselves exposed to the counter. Dimitrievski kept his side afloat: a one-on-one won against Güler, several Mbappé shots stopped, then a save from Bellingham, who had cut through the defence on his own. At the other end, Courtois stopped Arnaut Danjuma's only shot on target.

Relief came for Real in the 75th. Güler played Mbappé in behind, and the Frenchman rounded Dimitrievski before scoring. Four minutes later, José Gayà brought down the Frenchman, again clear through on goal, and referee Francisco José Hernández Maeso sent him off. The finish turned tense: Diomande and Rioja were booked for dissent in the 80th, Pepelu and Mbappé for fouls in the 81st.

Nineteen shots to four

Real had 68% of possession and played 628 passes, more than double Valencia's 288. They shot 19 times to 4, put 11 efforts on target to 2, and their expected goals rose to 2.32 against 0.24 for the hosts. Without Dimitrievski's eight saves, the margin could have been far heavier.

Valencia committed 26 fouls, Real only 6. That is the other number of the night, and it proved costly: one of those fouls led to the free kick for 1-0. Mbappé had six shots, four of them on target, and won 8 of 11 duels. Behind him, Dean Huijsen played 86 passes and Marc Cucurella 80, a sign of a team that spent much of the match pinning Valencia back.

Three goals, three ways to punish

The first came from an avoidable foul and a second-phase ball, the second from a run to the byline, the third from a counter-attack against an already stretched defence. Güler had a hand in two of the three moves, and Mbappé won the foul that led to the 1-0 before scoring the 3-0. Valencia, for their part, put only two shots on target in 90 minutes.

Mourinho stuck to his certainties, Valencia to their fouls

SNA analysis: José Mourinho did not rotate his side. Valverde again occupied the right flank, Trent Alexander-Arnold stayed on the bench, and Güler took advantage of Vinícius Júnior's absence. The Turk responded with a goal and an assist.

Valencia opted for density, in a 5-3-2, with Sadiq paired with Danjuma up front, facing Ibrahima Konaté and Huijsen. The plan rested on discipline. It gave way on a foul, Maffeo's, then frayed when Aguirre looked for more urgency at half-time. The Mexican coach was himself booked for dissent in the 59th, a symbol of a night when Valencia protested more than they created.

Real, for their part, kept a clean sheet for a second league game running, after the 0-3 at Santander. Mbappé scored in a seventh straight game, and Madrid's 19 shots tell the story of the gap between the two sides: six of them came from him.

Aguirre gambles, Mourinho manages

Aguirre sent on Rioja at the break, then Aimar Blázquez for Sadiq in the 59th, before replacing Guido Rodríguez and Maffeo with Filip Ugrinic and Arnau Martínez in the 63rd. Jesús Vázquez replaced Javi Guerra in the 82nd. Mourinho waited for the third goal to make his changes: Brahim Díaz, Eduardo Camavinga and Endrick came on in the 84th, Thiago Pitarch and Carlos Espí in added time, for Bellingham and Mbappé.

Diomande dribbles, Sadiq battles

Ivorian Diomande lasted 84 minutes in a game in which Real dominated possession. He completed six of eight dribbles, won 12 of 17 duels, played 55 passes and made three tackles. His only shot was off target, and he was booked for dissent in the 80th. SNA rating: 6.5. Moroccan Brahim Díaz replaced him in the 84th and had time to produce a key pass, too little to be rated.

On the Valencia side, Nigerian Sadiq started in order to unsettle Madrid's central defensive pairing. He did not have a single shot in 59 minutes. He won 5 of 14 duels, committed four fouls and made two tackles and an interception, before giving way to Blázquez. SNA rating: 6.

Real level with Barça, Valencia in trouble

It was an eighth consecutive win in all competitions for Real, who have 30 points from 12 games, the same as Barcelona, who have played only 11 and face Atlético, third with 28 points, on Sunday. Valencia remain second from bottom with 9 points from twelve games. In their three previous matches at Mestalla, they had lost two and drawn one. The international break is now upon us. Real head into it in full flow, Valencia with an attacking problem to fix: two shots on target in 90 minutes at home.

SNA man of the match: Arda Güler

Starting in Vinícius Júnior's absence, the Turk scored the 2-0 first time and set up Mbappé for the 3-0. In 84 minutes, he put both his shots on target, played three key passes, won 7 of 11 duels and was thwarted only by Dimitrievski, who won their one-on-one. SNA rating: 9.5.