Real Madrid make it seven straight wins, beating Valencia 0-3 at the Mestalla

Real Madrid barely needed the sending-off. By the time José Gayà saw red with 11 minutes to go, Carlo Ancelotti's side were already two goals and most of the possession to the good, and they finished the job at a canter. Federico Valverde and Arda Güler scored either side of the half, Kylian Mbappé added gloss after the break, and Valencia never laid a glove on them.

Valverde broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, and Güler doubled it eight minutes later to leave Valencia chasing a game they had barely been part of. Pablo Maffeo had already been booked inside half an hour, and the afternoon deteriorated further for the hosts when Gayà, their captain, was shown a straight red in the 79th. Mbappé, teed up by Güler, made the extra man count four minutes before that with the third, and added his own yellow card to a night that produced eight bookings and one dismissal in all.

Match facts

• 28' — Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)
• 36' — Arda Güler (Real Madrid)
• 75' — Kylian Mbappé, assist Arda Güler (Real Madrid)
• 79' — José Gayà (Valencia), red card

Line-ups

Valencia set up in a 5-3-2: Stole Dimitrievski in goal, a back line of César Tárrega, Justin de Haas, Pepelu, José Gayà and Pablo Maffeo, Guido Rodríguez and Aaron Mayol either side of Javi Guerra, and Arnaut Danjuma paired with Umar Sadiq up front. Arnau Martínez, Luis Rioja, Filip Ugrinic, Aimar Blázquez and Jesús Vázquez came off the bench. Real Madrid lined up in a 4-2-3-1 behind Thibaut Courtois, with Dean Huijsen, Ibrahima Konaté and Marc Cucurella completing the back four, Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham flanking Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Bernardo Silva, Yan Diomande and Arda Güler supporting Kylian Mbappé. Thiago Pitarch, Endrick, Eduardo Camavinga, Carlos Espí and Brahim Díaz were introduced during the match.

A seventh straight win, and now level with Barcelona on points

This is a club that has stopped losing. Real Madrid's last five results in the archive read W W W W W — wins over Villarreal, Roma in the Champions League, Sevilla, RB Leipzig in Europe again and then Barcelona itself in the Clásico, 16 goals scored and only five conceded across that run. Valencia becomes win number seven in a row across all competitions, and the goal difference the Mestalla gave up — plus-three on the night — pushes Real Madrid to 30 points from 12 league games. That ties them with Barcelona at the summit on points alone; Barcelona's superior goal difference keeps the gap at the top intact for now, but Real Madrid move above Atlético Madrid into second, two points clear of the champions from last season and firmly inside the Champions League places.

Valencia stay in the relegation zone

Valencia's own recent form had already been patchy before this — L D D L W across their last five, a stoppage-time home defeat to Villarreal the most recent of those losses, with six goals scored and seven conceded in that stretch. A heavier defeat here, their plus-nine swing in goal difference the worst of the season so far, leaves them on nine points from 12 games. That keeps them 19th, three points above bottom-placed Málaga and inside the relegation zone, with games against sides fighting at the other end of the table growing scarcer by the week.

What's next

Real Madrid stay at home for their next fixture, hosting Celta Vigo at the Bernabéu on Sunday 22 November for La Liga's matchday 13, looking to make it eight wins running. Valencia travel to Rayo Vallecano the same day, needing a result to pull away from the bottom three before the division's run-in starts to bite.