After the Spanish champions had beaten Mallorca on Saturday, Alvaro Arbeloa's side eked out a tight victory at Mestalla to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals.

Missing suspended forward Vinicius Junior and injured midfielder Jude Bellingham, Los Blancos lacked sparkle but did just enough to claim three points on Spain's east coast.

England international Trent Alexander-Arnold made his return after injury as a substitute in the second half of Madrid's victory.

Arbeloa's side had the better chances in the first half but failed to create danger on a consistent basis in a gritty encounter.

Arda Guler's shot deflected narrowly wide, while Valencia stopper Stole Dimitrievski saved well with his legs from Mbappe's fierce drive.

Madrid right-back David Jimenez, from the club's youth academy, came closest to scoring after French superstar Mbappe teed him up, but the Macedonian goalkeeper denied him, too.

Midway through the second half, Carreras conjured a goal out of nothing to give Madrid the lead. Drifting inside from the left of the box, the defender used his weaker right foot to stroke the ball inside Dimitrievski's near post.

Valencia might have levelled, but Lucas Beltran's effort on the stretch beat Thibaut Courtois and clipped the post. Arbeloa brought on Alexander-Arnold for his first appearance since early December following a thigh injury as Madrid looked to close out the game.

They eventually secured the three points in stoppage time as Brahim Diaz teed up La Liga's top scorer Mbappe, who finished calmly for his 23rd goal in the competition this season.

Valencia's fans, some of whom had waved white handkerchieves during the match in protest at the club's situation, headed for the exits with Los Che 17th, one point above the drop zone.

Á. Carreras

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