Real Madrid's lack of planning exposed in last-minute defeat to Valencia | OneFootball

Real Madrid experienced one of their worst days of the 2024/25 season with a 2-1 defeat against Valencia at the Santiago Bernabéu. This result left Real unable to threaten the lead held by Barcelona, who remain isolated at the top of LaLiga with just a few games remaining.

The whole nightmare began when Valverde recovered the ball in the defensive area and found Mbappé, who was brought down in the box after being able to finish, but Brazilian Vinícius Júnior hit the penalty into the middle of the goal and Mamardashvili saved without any difficulty. Diakhaby then headed the ball into the net from a corner kick to give the visitors the lead at a time of great instability for the defending champions.

It looked like Real Madrid would respond quickly in the second half after Bellingham's header from a corner was deflected into the top corner by Vini Jr to level the scores. From then on, we had the expected attacking dominance from Real with several chances in succession, but the team failed to turn possession into results.

On the other hand, Valencia found it very difficult to keep possession of the ball throughout the second half, but it proved fatal when they needed it most. In stoppage time, Rafa Mir went on a counter-attack, taking advantage of the space given up by the defenders, and crossed for Perales to head in alone from the edge of the penalty area to break Real's 17-year unbeaten run against Valencia on home soil.

Fran González wasn't to blame for Real Madrid's defeat

Real Madrid CF v Valencia CF - La Liga EA Sports | Diego Souto/GettyImages

On his debut for Real Madrid's professional team, goalkeeper Fran González certainly showed that he wasn't prepared for a top-level match. The youngster showed potential and made some good saves, but the first goal he conceded would have been defensible for Courtois and Lunin. The Valencia goal was not his fault, but Courtois could have been better positioned if he had anticipated the play.

We can't say that Fran González (or Vinícius Júnior) were responsible for Real Madrid's defeat, but rather the very poor planning by Florentino Pérez's management, who didn't look for adequate reinforcements to avoid injury problems this season in various positions.