Kluivert deals new blow to Real with Valencia in ‘racist’ duel

The defeat drops Real Madrid to third place. City rival Atlético recorded a 3-0 victory over Osasuna earlier in the day and is the new number two. For Valencia, the three points are worth gold in the fight for survival.

Valencia took the lead against Real after more than half an hour. Diego Lopez slid the ball in after good action by Justin Kluivert, who was substituted just before the end of the match.

Real Madrid had opportunities to score after the setback, but real form was lacking and Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardasjvili also proved a stand in the way.

Tempers ran high on several occasions. Vinícius Júnior was treated racially by the Valencia crowd. Something that also happened to him several times earlier this season.

The Brazilian striker was forced to retire deep into fifteen minutes of injury time after an altercation. There was no more scoring.

Kluivert apologized to Vinícius on behalf of his club. “I apologize on behalf of us, on behalf of everyone at Valencia, because this is not soccer. It’s very bad,” he said.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti did not want to talk about soccer afterwards. “I want to talk about what happened here. This is much more important,” the Italian told Movistar afterwards. “When a player is called ‘monkey’ and a coach has to think about taking his player off the pitch, there is something completely wrong with this league.”