Real Madrid secured their eighth consecutive victory across all competitions with a 3-0 win over Valencia at the Mestalla stadium on Saturday. The victory puts the team in a position to pressure league leaders Barcelona, who are scheduled to face third-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
The matches across Spain were marked by a tribute to Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel, who died on Tuesday following a collision with Andorra's goalkeeper during a Spanish second division match on Monday. Spain's footballers' union had asked for all weekend matches to be paused as a mark of respect, but most games went ahead. However, there was a minute of silence before kick-off for De Miguel and matches were stopped for a minute's applause in the ninth minute -- his shirt number.
In Tenerife, players and fans gathered for a memorial to honor the number nine. Tenerife captain Enric Gallego delivered an emotional speech, stating, "You knew what it meant to work towards a common goal, you understood football as something that went far beyond oneself." He added, "Just a few days ago, we were sharing all of that with you -- today we have to speak of you in the past tense. It's terribly unfair." De Miguel's funeral was held on Thursday with approximately 400 mourners, including Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
Real Madrid, managed by Jose Mourinho, dominated the match despite being without winger Vinicius Junior, who was serving the final game of a four-match ban. Federico Valverde opened the scoring in the first half with a strike from outside the area after a blocked free-kick by Kylian Mbappe fell to him. Arda Guler doubled the lead shortly after when a Jude Bellingham cross was deflected into his path.
In the second half, Mbappe scored his 13th league goal of the campaign, marking his seventh consecutive appearance with a goal. He scored by bursting onto a dangerous pass from Guler to beat goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. Valencia captain Jose Gaya was sent off with about 10 minutes remaining for a sliding foul on Mbappe.






