Valencia 2-2 Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham sent off as Vinicius Jr goals rescue visitors

Jude Bellingham was sent off for complaining after the final whistle denied him a winning goal for Real Madrid in a dramatic game at Valencia.

Bellingham thought he had won the game six minutes into stoppage time when he headed in from close range, but referee Gil Manzano had blown the whistle to end the game before the cross had been delivered into the box.

With the goal chalked off, Real players and staff surrounded the referee and Bellingham, back in the side after three weeks out with an injury, was shown a red card for his part in the protests.

Vinicius had previously dragged the La Liga leaders into the encounter after Valencia burst into their handy lead.

Valencia midfielder Mouctar Diakhaby suffered what appeared to be a bad injury with just minutes remaining in the game after a collision with Real’s Aurelien Tchouameni. He was taken off on a stretcher off as players on the field held their hands over their faces in shock and disbelief.

Hugo Duro put Los Che in front, scoring his 12th goal of the campaign by turning in Fran Perez’s scuffed shot after Real gave possession away inside their own half.

Valencia doubled their lead just 186 seconds later when Roman Yaremchuk intercepted Dani Carvajal’s pass to Andriy Lunin before rounding the goalkeeper and sliding into an open goal.

Vinicius’ first goal came just before half-time, prodding in from close range after goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili failed to deal with Carvajal’s cross.

The Brazilian, who was racially abused and later sent off during his last visit to the stadium in May 2023, celebrated the goal by holding the ball under one arm and raising his fist in the air while looking in the direction of the Valencia fans.

Valencia have not lost at home since September 2023 and appeared happy to protect their lead after half-time but Real pushed for an equaliser, going close through Bellingham and Toni Kroos.

Eventually, Real’s pressure told when Vinicius met Brahim Diaz’s cross to score with a header at the far post.

Valencia were awarded a penalty after referee Manzano believed Nacho fouled Duro, but the decision was overturned after the official was asked to take another look at the incident by the video assistant referee (VAR).

The draw extends Real’s unbeaten streak in the league to 21 games, their best run without defeat in a single La Liga campaign since the last 23 games of 2011-12 under Jose Mourinho, and they hold a seven-point lead over Girona at the top.

Valencia were playing for the first time since at least 10 people were killed after a fire ripped through two apartment blocks in the Spanish city on 23 February.