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Vinícius Júnior apologised after being sent off in Real Madrid’s 2-1 comeback win over Valencia on Friday in the first LaLiga game of 2025.
Hugo Duro put Valencia ahead in the first half at Mestalla, before an eventful second period saw Jude Bellingham miss a penalty — hitting the post — and Kylian Mbappé have a goal disallowed for offside.
Vinícius was shown a red card for striking Valencia keeper Stole Dimitrievski, before substitute Luka Modric levelled for Madrid in the 85th minute and Bellingham scored a dramatic added-time winner.
The result means Madrid go ahead of Atlético Madrid at the top of the LaLiga table, two points clear of their rivals having played a game more.
“Sorry, and thanks team!” Vinícius posted on X after the match.
The Brazil international reacted angrily when he was shown the red card in the 79th minute, and was restrained from confronting referee Cesar Soto Grado by teammate Antonio Rüdiger and goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis.
“We think it wasn’t a red card, it was two yellows,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. “The team was able to react, to the penalty miss, and the disallowed goal. It’s hard to explain how bad our first half was and how good the second half was … We can’t show these two faces.”
Vinicius has only been sent off twice for Real Madrid, with both dismissals coming at Mestalla. He was also red carded in Madrid’s 1-0 defeat to Valencia on May 21, 2023, a game in which he had earlier confronted a group of home fans for racially abusing him.
“We’ll appeal [the dismissal],” Ancelotti said. “I don’t know if they’ll accept it. We think it wasn’t a red … It was a touch from Dimitrievski and then a push from Vini. I think two yellows would have been enough … I don’t know if [Vini] can play our next game, let’s hope so. He’s still a decisive player for us.”
Bellingham’s penalty miss was the third time Madrid have failed to score from the spot this season, after Mbappé was unable to convert against Liverpool and Athletic Club.
“It annoys me that we’ve missed three penalties,” Ancelotti said. “I’ll have to choose who’s going to take them.”
England star Bellingham had an otherwise outstanding game, providing the passes for Mbappé’s disallowed goal and Modric’s equalizer, before scoring himself in the 95th minute to give his side the win.
“A great game from him,” Ancelotti said. “The missed penalty gave him extra motivation. His last 20 minutes showed what only he can do … [the goal] was a reward for the game he had.”