Los Blancos arrived on Spain's east coast under pressure to respond to Barcelona's win over Mallorca, and despite missing suspended Vinicius Junior and injured Jude Bellingham, they managed to deliver another crucial result. The triumph marked Madrid's seventh consecutive league victory and moved them to within one point of their Catalan rivals at the summit.

Madrid dominated possession in a scrappy opening half but struggled to convert their control into clear-cut chances. Arda Guler came closest early on when his low drive took a deflection and rolled narrowly wide, while Mbappe forced a sharp save from Stole Dimitrievski with a powerful effort. The Valencia goalkeeper was also required to produce an excellent stop to deny debutant right-back David Jimenez after Mbappe had picked him out inside the area.

Valencia offered glimpses of danger on the counter-attack, with Arnaut Danjuma causing problems with his direct running. The winger saw one effort deflected behind, while Lucas Beltran flashed a header wide and later clipped the outside of the post as the hosts sought to break the deadlock.

The breakthrough eventually arrived midway through the second half thanks to a moment of individual quality from Carreras. Drifting inside from the left, the defender skipped beyond two challenges before drilling a low right-footed finish inside the near post to give Madrid the lead.

Valencia nearly responded immediately, with Beltran stretching to meet a cross only to see his effort beat Thibaut Courtois and rebound off the post. That proved to be the closest the hosts came to rescuing a result in front of a frustrated crowd, some of whom voiced their displeasure with the club's situation during the match.

Madrid gradually tightened their control as the game entered its closing stages, with Trent Alexander-Arnold making his long-awaited return from a thigh injury off the bench. The visitors eventually sealed the victory in stoppage time when Brahim Diaz threaded a pass into Mbappe, who finished calmly to register his 38th goal of the season and his 23rd in La Liga.

While the performance lacked fluency at times, the result ensures Madrid remain firmly in the hunt for the title and could move top if they overcome Real Sociedad next weekend, depending on Barcelona's outcome against Girona. Valencia, meanwhile, remain 17th and sit just one point above the relegation zone, having played more matches than the teams below them.

Nedbank Cup Round of 32 draw