Valencia 2-2 Real Madrid: Player ratings as Vinicius sends powerful message on Mestalla return

Vinicius Junior fired Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw with Valencia on Saturday evening, sending a powerful message to the fans inside the Mestalla in the process.

Returning to the scene where he was allegedly subjected to abhorrent racist abuse last season, Vinicius raised his fist directly in front of the home fans to celebrate his first goal, which Madrid sorely needed after falling 2-0 down inside the first half.

Vinicius headed home an equaliser midway through the second half, sealing a point for a Madrid side who were otherwise well below par.

How the game unfolded

Roman Yaremchuk earned himself an early yellow card for a ridiculous late challenge on Aurelien Tchouameni inside the opening minutes, in what was clearly an attempt to send a message that the extravagant visitors would have to fight to get through this game. Rodrygo gleefully returned the message to Jose Gaya but managed to escape a caution.

Things soon calmed down, however, with Madrid dominating possession in search of a chance better than Eduardo Camavinga's hit-and-hope header 17 minutes in.

Against the run of play, it was Valencia who took the lead shortly before the hour mark in strange circumstances. Dimitri Foulquier's looping cross found Fran Perez at the back post and the winger sliced his strike horribly, but fortunately for the hosts, his effort skewed perfectly towards the head of Hugo Duro, who steered home.

Just moments later, Valencia doubled their lead. Dani Carvajal's back-pass was well off target and gleefully intercepted by Yaremchuk, who rounded Andriy Lunin and tapped into an empty net.

Madrid's response was lethargic but they did snatch a goal back with the final kick of the half. Carvajal's deflected cross somehow evaded the hands of the diving Giorgi Mamardashvili, allowing Vinicius to bundle the ball over the line.

There was a bit more life about Madrid after the break. Vinicius blasted over before Jude Bellingham weaved his way into the box and saw a low effort pushed away by Mamardashvili.

An equaliser felt like it was coming and Vinicius finally delivered with 15 minutes to go, heading home Brahim Diaz's cross to tie things up.

Unfortunately, Mouctar Diakhaby needed a stretcher to leave the pitch five minutes before the final whistle after the full weight of a falling Aurelien Tchouameni came crashing down on his leg, leaving the players around him visibly distraught.

As the clock ticked over into stoppage time, the referee awarded a penalty after Duro went to ground under pressure from Fran Garcia, but a VAR review soon determined the Valencia striker had actually just slipped over.

With the final act of the game, Madrid thought they had won it. Brahim Diaz's cross into the box was headed home by Bellingham in the 99th minute, but the referee had actually blown the final whistle before the ball reached his head. Madrid were apoplectic heading down the tunnel

Real Madrid player ratings (4-1-2-1-2)

GK: Andriy Lunin - 6/10 - Could do nothing about either goal. Made a smart save to deny Lopez on the hour mark.

RB: Dani Carvajal - 6/10 - It was his poor back-pass which gifted Yaremchuk a goal, but Carvajal made up for that with the cross for Vinicius' strike shortly before the interval.

CB: Aurelien Tchouameni - 5/10 - Looked like an unnatural fit at centre-back for this one. Valencia's press caused him a handful of problems.

CB: Antonio Rudiger - 6/10 - Guilty of ball-watching at times but didn't exactly get much wrong. Had to bail out Mendy more than once.

LB: Ferland Mendy - 5/10 - Not good enough at either end of the field. Often vacated his position, leaving Rudiger to pick up the scraps.

DM: Toni Kroos - 5/10 - Didn't offer any defensive solidarity but was also underwhelming in possession. Several misplaced passes.

CM: Federico Valverde - 5/10 - Had plenty of the ball but didn't do much with it. Made a poor pass for the opening goal and was then too safe in possession. A great challenge to stop Javi Guerra in the second half.

CM: Eduardo Camavinga - 5/10 - Like Valverde, Camavinga got around the pitch but didn't take the risks needed to make something happen.

AM: Jude Bellingham - 5/10 - Pretty quiet. Valencia's deep line limited the space available to him, keeping Bellingham on the sidelines for the most part.

ST: Vinicius Junior - 8/10 - Played without composure early on, charging around looking to get into it with opponents. Made the difference with his goals and used the first to send a poignant message to the home fans.

ST: Rodrygo - 5/10 - His early foul on Gaya was pointless and only succeeded in riling Valencia and their fans up.

Substitutes

SUB: Luka Modric (63' for Kroos) - 7/10

SUB: Brahim Diaz (63' for Rodrygo) - 7/10

SUB: Fran Garcia (73' for Mendy) - 6/10

SUB: Joselu (73' for Camavinga) - 7/10

SUB: Nacho Fernandez (86' for Valverde) - N/A

Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Fran Gonzalez (GK), Lucas Vazquez, Dani Ceballos, Arda Guler

Manager

Carlo Ancelotti - 5/10 - Didn't seem to have much of an answer for Valencia's stubborn defence, but Ancelotti deserves credit for changing the tide of the game with his substitutions.

Player of the match - Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)