BEVERLY HILLS, November 09, (THEWILL) – Valencia handed champions Real Madrid a decisive 4-1 defeat thanks in large part to a hattrick of penalties from left winger Carlos Soler in La Liga on Sunday.
French striker Karim Benzema put Madrid in front in the 23rd minute with a fine finish. It gave a deserved lead for the visitors who dominated possession in the minutes leading up to the goal.
Valencia drew level in the 35th minute with a Soler penalty on his second try after seeing his initial attempt saved because VAR ruled that players had come into the area before Soler’s first try.
A Raphael Varane own goal gave the hosts the lead in the 43rd minute and allowed them go into half-time with a 2-1 edge.
A questionable penalty call against Brazilian left back Marcelo provided Valencia another chance from the penalty spot. Soler stepped up again to dispatch his second spot kick of the night and double Los Che’s lead.
For a third time, in the 62nd minute, VAR awarded Valencia a spot kick. This time, it was a penalty against mercurial centre back Sergio Ramos for interfering with the ball using his arm. Once again Soler was up to the task, netting his third from the spot on the day and taking his side to a 4-1 lead.
Soler became only the third player in the history of La Liga to score three penalties in a single match
“It’s great to finally get the rewards of all the hard work we have been putting in recently without getting the results we deserved,” said Valencia coach Javi Gracia.
“I always felt we were competing well even if results weren’t going our way and we need to keep going down this path. This result will strengthen our belief in what we are doing and give the players confidence for the games ahead.”
The loss sees Zinedine Zidane’s side stuck in fourth place in La Liga with 16 points through eight games played.
In his post-match comments, Zidane said: “We started the game well, the first half hour, after the goal we dropped off and changed the dynamic. That could be a problem. Then a bit of everything happened, we had the three penalties, an own goal. Today it’s difficult to understand our game. We started well and after they equalised, everything changed.
“There’s no justification, no excuses. The game changed. We started well, the first half hour, then we dropped off. Three penalties, everything came together today against us, it’s a bad game and a bad day.”
They go into the international break on the back of this loss but resume on Saturday, November 21 away at Villarreal while Valencia play the next day away at Deportivo Alaves.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
