Valencia held on for a famous 2-1 victory over La Liga leaders Real Madrid, partly thanks to a brilliant goal from Simone Zaza. Zinedine Zidane's team piled on the pressure in the latter stages but couldn't break down the superb defensive duo of Ezequiel Garay and Eliaquim Mangala.
Valencia started in electric fashion, findingthemselves 1-0 up after five minutes thanks a moment of brilliance from Zaza. The move started off with Diego Alves in goal and within seconds Valencia had swept up the right wing and Munir crossed to the Italy internationalwho controlled on the volley, then hit the half volley on the swivel with his left foot into the top corner leaving Keylor Navas with no chance.
Valencia 2-1 Real Madrid: Zaza and Orellana strike early as Los Che stun La Liga leaders - 5 things we learned https://t.co/tuoYLhGYs5 pic.twitter.com/vvd1Hklq1j
Four minutes later Valencia found themselves two goals up thanks to a swift counter attack. Real Madrid's back four were left exposed with Los Blancos'midfield three far too high up the pitch, allowingZaza to pick out Nani on the left wing, who found new signing Fabian Orellana in acres of space. Orellana calmly slotted the ball underNavas, who could've done better.
Valencia consistently found space for Nani on the left wing as Dani Carvajal was often caught too high up the pitch. Valencia's influence on the left diminished as Nani had to come off and was replaced by left back Guilherme Siqueira. This move pushed Jose Gaya up to left wing but he didn't have the same impact as Nani. Five minutes after this enforced change,Real pulled one back thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo header form a perfectly weighted Marcelo cross.
The second half never really got going, with Valencia sitting deep and absorbing Real's pressure. The introductionof Gareth Bale injected some urgency into Zidane's team, but there wasn't much to cheer about, especially after Ronaldo fired two free kicks in dangerous areas straight into the wall.
The highlight for Valencia was a penalty appeal for a shove on Zaza by Carvajal, which was not given. Other than this, there was only one threatening attack whichcame when Dani Parejo dribbled past two on the bye line but Navas pulled off a good save to deny him.
The defensive duo of Garay and Mangala were outstanding for Valencia, dealing with a constant barrage of crosses from Real brilliantly.Ronaldo spurned a free header in the 93rd minute which was the best chance for either side in the second half, and one you would expect Ronaldo to bury - although the linesman belatedly flagged him offside.
Valencia held on for a massive result, which sees them move 10 points clear of the relegation zone - and drops Real Madrid back towards the waiting arms of Sevilla and Barcelona behind them.
�✅#RealMadrid 1⃣1⃣ 🆚 @valenciacf#RMMovistar #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/IIPLi3CVCG