Real Madrid moved provisionally level on points with La Liga leaders Barcelona on Saturday after cruising to a 3-0 victory away to 10-man Valencia at Mestalla Stadium, with Kylian Mbappe scoring for the seventh match in a row.
The win was an eighth straight triumph in all competitions for Jose Mourinho's side, and it cranks up the pressure on reigning champions Barcelona, who visit third-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday aiming to restore their advantage over the chasing pack.
Federico Valverde and Arda Guler struck in the first half to put Madrid in control, before Mbappe added a third after the break. Los Blancos played without winger Vinicius Junior, who served the final game of a four-match suspension, but they have flourished in his absence. That run includes a victory over Barcelona in the Camp Nou Clasico on October 25.
The match paused in the ninth minute as players and supporters paid tribute to Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel, who died tragically on Tuesday. On the pitch, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a sharp stop to keep out Aaron Mayol after the Valencia man had dispossessed Aurelien Tchouameni in a dangerous position, and Valencia's Guido Rodriguez later had a goal ruled out for offside before the visitors seized control.
Valverde opened the scoring with a drilled effort from outside the penalty area after Mbappe's free kick struck the Valencia wall and dropped kindly to the Uruguayan. Guler quickly doubled the advantage when Jude Bellingham's cross was deflected into his path.
Guler went close to a third early in the second half but was foiled by Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski as he attempted to round him. Dimitrievski then saved well from Mbappe, who tried to dink the ball over him after running through, and also kept out a powerful Bellingham surge and an overhead kick from Mbappe as Madrid pushed to finish the contest.
Mbappe eventually delivered the third, racing onto a dangerous pass from Guler, darting past Dimitrievski and squeezing the ball home for his 13th league goal of the campaign. It was the French forward's 17th goal in 16 appearances across all competitions this season.
Valencia's miserable evening was compounded when Jose Gaya was sent off with around 10 minutes remaining for a late sliding foul on Mbappe, leaving Javier Aguirre's team to see out the match a man down.
Elsewhere on Saturday, new Espanyol coach Eder Sarabia watched his side play out a goalless home draw with Deportivo A Coruna. Osasuna grabbed a late 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao, while Racing Santander fought back from behind to defeat Malaga 2-1.
