The dawning of the New Year is often seen as a time for new beginnings.
But for Real Madrid, the first fixture of 2015 marked the end of a 22-game winning streak as Los Blancos went down 2-1 to an all-action Valencia side Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 12 minutes but Los Blancos were pegged back at the beginning of the second half when Antonio Barragan's strike deflected off Pepe and beyond Iker Casillas.
Nicolas Otamendi then rose highest in the Madrid box to power a header beyond Casillas a little over 10 minutes later to give Valencia a lead they would refuse to relinquish.
Madrid did create numerous chances for the equalizer but were foiled by a mixture of poor finishing, heroic defending and some spectacular goalkeeping from Valencia's Diego Alves Carreira.
Valencia also had chances of their own as Madrid piled forward in the latter stages.
Barragan in particular was guilty of being wasteful as he fired wide when through on Casillas.
After the match, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti lamented his side's inability to kill the game off when they were ahead.
"There were key moments in which we could make the second goal," Ancelotti told the Real Madrid website. "But it didn't materialize. You can not always be effective."
"We worked well and we had chances to score (and) we deserved at least a draw."
Valencia boss, Nuno Espirito Santo, was in more ebullient mood when speaking to reporters.
"This victory deserves a lot of credit, as does the fact that we came back from behind," he said in comments carried by the Valencia website.
He continued, "I still believe that our biggest success is yet to come. It was a great win, but we still only have 34 points. It is not the time to celebrate anything, although of course the fans have to enjoy the victory."
The result means Madrid's great rivals Barcelona can return to the summit of La Liga if they defeat Real Sociedad later on Sunday.
Valencia, meanwhile, move up to fourth and into the Champions League places.
Credit: CNN Sports
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus