2-2: Ten-man Real Madrid come away from Mestalla with draw

Real Madrid picked up a point at Mestalla in a close-fought encounter on Sunday night, one in which they played with ten men for more than 20 minutes following the sending-off of Mateo Kovacic. The game saw the visitors move swiftly into the lead when, shortly after the quarter-of-an-hour mark, they produced a fantastic move in which the BBC were to the fore. Karim Benzema won the ball back in the area in front of the penalty box and combined with Gareth Bale, whose first-time backheel found Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese then delivered a no-look pass to set up Benzema, who finished expertly. 

The Whites had the early advantage and, on top of that, were monopolising possession over a Valencia side sitting deep. In the 30th minute, Gary Neville's outfit had a clear-cut opportunity to equalise, Rodrigo De Paul delivering the ball and Joao Cancelo's header flying just centimetres wide. The chance roused the Mestalla support and, driven on by their home faithful, the hosts began to create more regular moments of danger in and around the Madrid area before, in the final minute of the first 45, fortune was not to favour the guests. They saw a penalty not given for a challenge on Gareth Bale and, in the subsequent Valencia attack, a spot-kick was awarded for a Pepe tackle on André Gomes, allowing Dani Parejo to level the scores from 12 yards.