Valencia vs Real Madrid Score: Güler and Valverde Break a Deep 5-3-2

Real Madrid against Valencia was billed as a mismatch on paper, second against 19th, and it played out that way. Madrid won 3-0 in Round 12 of La Liga, controlling 68% of the ball and taking 19 shots to Valencia's four. Kickwise's pre-match prediction favoured the visitors, and the match followed that script. What is worth explaining is how Valencia's compact shape was opened up so decisively.

Javier Aguirre set his side up in a 5-3-2, built to keep Madrid's attackers in front of a packed back line and to counter through the two forwards. The plan held for 28 minutes. Then Federico Valverde put Madrid ahead, and eight minutes later Arda Güler doubled the lead. Once Valencia were chasing the game, the low block lost its purpose. A side designed to stay narrow and wait could not suddenly press high, and Madrid's 4-2-3-1 under José Mourinho kept feeding the space between the Valencia midfield and the back five.

Güler was the clearest difference-maker. His 9.0 rating was the highest on the pitch, with Valverde next at 8.1, and his goal on 36 minutes was the one that made the afternoon a long defensive exercise for the hosts. The numbers show how one-sided the contest was: Madrid generated 2.39 expected goals from 11 shots on target, against 0.26 for Valencia. Valencia's goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski made eight saves and was their best player at 6.6, which is why the margin stayed at three. Without him it could have been heavier.

Discipline compounded Valencia's problems. They committed 26 fouls to Madrid's six, and the bookings accumulated steadily: Pablo Maffeo on 26 minutes, Guido Rodríguez on 50, and Aguirre himself on 59 from the technical area. Madrid's game management was calm by comparison. They did not need to rush after the break, and when Kylian Mbappé scored the third in the 75th minute, the contest was finished as a spectacle.

The late stretch turned scrappy. José Gayà was sent off in the 79th minute, then Yan Diomande, Luis Rioja, Mbappé and José Luis García Vayá were all booked inside two minutes. None of it changed the outcome, and none of it was Madrid's doing in a competitive sense; they were already comfortably clear.

For Valencia, the result leaves them 19th of 20 with nine points from 12 games, and a back-five approach that produced only two shots on target all afternoon. For Madrid, it is a routine, controlled win that keeps them second on 30 points. The prediction held, though it never needed to be brave: Madrid were the better team in every measurable way.