September 20, (THEWILL) – The formidable partnership brewing between Real Madrid’s front pair of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior proved to be the difference after Los Blancos staged a dramatic late comeback to snatch all three points in a 2-1 away win over Valencia.
It was an unfortunate end of the fixture for the hosts as they were comparatively the better team for much of the match and managed to hold their lead until four minutes to the end of regulation time before they were breached.
Valencia looked set to continue their early season resurgence with a victory that would have sent them to the top of La Liga on Sunday. Credit must still go to Real Madrid for rallying resiliently late on to score twice through Benzema and Vinicius and return home with all three points.
Valencia’s season has seen them remain unbeaten in their first four matches which meant they were tied on points in the La Liga table with Real. They were prepared to maintain that with their strong start to the match but unfortunately, they were hit by injuries to Carlos Soler and Theirry Correira before Dani Carvajal also had to be withdrawn.
Were their players like Gabriel Paulista and Goncalo Guedes a little more clinical, Valencia could have scored more goals and the result could have been different. It was not until Hugo Duro slammed home a bouncing ball inside the box six minutes after the hour mark did their home fans have something to celebrate.
Staring defeat in the face, Real manager Carlo Ancelotti rang in the changes, introducing Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo off the bench with Luka Jovic and Isco also thrown on in the latter stages for extra pressure.
The strategy began to bear fruits when, in the 86th minute, Vinicius had a deflected strike flash in at the near post with an assist from Benzema and just four minutes left. Then, Benzema himself completed the turnaround in the 88th minute by heading in a Vinicius cross.
In the most unlikely of cases, Ancelotti’s charges snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and Real Madrid left Mestalla with a victory they barely deserved on the balance of the 90 minutes.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
