2 days ago
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Jude Bellingham went from villain to hero as his stoppage-time goal earned Real Madrid a dramatic 2-1 win at Valencia.
It looked as though the England star was going to shoulder the responsibility for dropped points in a tight title race when he missed a penalty to get his side level in the second-half.
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But as has so often been the case in what's still the infancy of his career, Bellingham had the final say as he slotted home the winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
And Bellingham could barely contain his excitement after the crazy win, which saw Real Madrid finish the match with ten men, as he posted an X-rated message on his social media.
With a picture of him celebrating his goal, the caption on Instagram read: "It’s always eventful at the Mestalla [wink emoji]. This ******* TEAM! #HalaMadrid."
The result puts Real Madrid two points clear at the top of the table, albeit second-placed Atletico Madrid have a game in hand.
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But Carlo Ancelotti's men will be delighted to have put the pressure back on their inner-city rivals having been behind until 85 minutes.
Hugo Duro put the home side in front after Thibaut Courtois could only parry a fierce Javi Guerra drive straight into his path.
The reigning Spanish and European champions started the second half well and were given a lifeline in the 52nd minute when they were awarded a penalty after Kylian Mbappe was upended by Cesar Tarrega.
England star Bellingham stepped up and struck low to the left of Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, only for the ball to rebound off the post and the hosts were given a reprieve.
Mbappe had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside and Real Madrid's push for an equaliser was made a whole lot harder when Vinicius Jr was sent off for shoving Dimitrievski in the face.
But they eventually got their equaliser when Luka Modric poked the ball home with his left foot from close range on 85 minutes after Bellingham intricately played it through to him.
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Real then got their winner ten minutes later when Bellingham made no mistake when he received the ball outside the box after a poor touch from Hugo Guillamon.
Bellingham and co made a slow start to the season but are in a good position to retain their domestic title.
They have work to do in the Champions League with three defeats from six leaving them in 20th and only just away from the bottom eight relegation spots.
