Real Madrid 4-0 Valencia: Mbappé and Bellingham lead a comfortable thrashing by the Whites

Real Madrid had a festive day on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu. Against Valencia (3-0), Xabi Alonso's team added a new victory, their fourth in a row in LaLiga, to extend their lead, pending what happens on Sunday between FC Barcelona and Elche at Montjuïc (18:30 CEST).

In matchday 11 of LaLiga, Los Blancos fulfilled the 'minimum effort' rule to take the 3 points against a totally harmless Valencia at Chamartín. A brace from Kylian Mbappé and another good long-distance goal from Jude Bellingham left the match completely decided before halftime.

Penalties finished off Valencia in the first half

Kylian Mbappé scored the 1-0 against Valencia from a penalty

The opening quarter of an hour, although it had a couple of chances in both areas, made Valencia's plan clear: to fall back into a low and compact block near their area to reduce spaces for a 'merengue' team that was recovering the 4-3-3 in its base scheme, again with Franco Mastantuono as right winger.

In the 19th minute, however, came the play that changed the game. The referee, Mateo Busquets Ferrer, warned by Trujillo Vázquez from the VAR, called a handball penalty by Tárrega inside the area. The handball was clear, but there was doubt about Mbappé's position at the start of the play due to a possible offside.

In any case, the '10' took charge of the penalty, fooling Agirrezabala with his shot. 'Kiki' himself extended the lead in the 31st minute, this time taking advantage of a cross from Arda Güler from the left to finish first-time into an empty net.

Valencia's defense crumbled after the 1-0 and, to make matters worse, Busquets Ferrer whistled another penalty for Madrid in the 43rd minute, this time for a mistimed tackle by Correia on Álvaro Carreras. Vinicius asked for the ball, but Agirrezabala stopped his shot.

However, the joy was short-lived for the visitors, as Jude Bellingham, in the 45th minute, made it 3-1 with a remarkable shot from medium distance, after cutting past a rival. 

Álvaro Carreras closed the scoring in added time

After the 3-0, the second half was a mere formality. Both teams took the opportunity to rotate players, with Courtois barely having to intervene in the 66th minute from André Almeida and Madrid managing possession without too much penetration. In the 82nd minute, Álvaro Carreras scored the fourth with a powerful left-footed shot from the left side of the area, his first official goal in the white jersey.

The result allowed Xabi Alonso to give some minutes to Dani Ceballos and Endrick, the latter pointed out to leave in the winter market. With the victory, the 'merengues' add 30 points, 8 more than Barça (the 'culés' have one game less). On Tuesday, Real visits Liverpool for Champions League.

Match Data: Real Madrid 4-0 Valencia

• Real Madrid, 4: Courtois; Valverde, Militao, Huijsen (Asencio, min. 68), Carreras; Tchouameni (Camavinga, min. 46), Güler (Ceballos, min. 46), Bellingham;  Mastantuono, Vinicius (Rodrygo, min. 79) y Mbappé (Endrick, min. 79).
• Valencia, 0: Agirrezabala; Correia (Vázquez, min. 55), Tárrega, Copete, Gayà (Guerra, min. 87); Diego López (Cömert, min. 55), Santamaría, Pepelu, Rioja (Druo, min. 55); Beltrán (Almeida, min. 46) y Danjuma.
• Goals: 1-0, Kylian Mbappé (min. 20, p.); 2-0, Kylian Mbappé (min. 31); 3-0, Jude Bellingham (min. 45); 4-0, Álvaro Carreras (min. 82).
• Referee: Mateo Busquets Ferrer. He cautioned Aurélien Tchouaméni for Real Madrid. For Valencia, he cautioned Javi Guerra. He awarded two penalties in the first half in favor of Real Madrid: one for a handball by Cesar Tárrega inside the area and another for a foul by Thierry Correia on Álvaro Carreras.
• Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid)
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 11 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26.