Late goals from Luka Modric and Jude Bellingham gave 10-man Real Madrid a 2-1 comeback win at relegation-threatened Valencia on Friday, taking the visitors top of La Liga.

Real had to fight back after Hugo Duro put Valencia ahead in the 27th minute, scoring an open goal after Thibaut Courtois blocked Javi Guerra’s first-time shot from close range.

Real pushed hard for an equalizer but Bellingham missed a golden chance to score with a poor penalty that hit the post after an Enzo Barrenechea foul on Kylian Mbappé in the 55th minute.

In the 79th minute, Carlo Ancelotti’s squad was reduced to ten men when Vinícius Júnior was shown a red card for slapping Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

But second-half substitute Modric finally brought the visitors level when he beat Dimitrievski with a low shot from Bellingham’s through ball with five minutes remaining.

The England midfielder then sealed the victory by scoring five minutes into stoppage time, leaving Real Madrid at the top of the table with 43 points, two ahead of Atlético Madrid, who still have a game in hand. Due to goal difference, Valencia is in second-to-last place in the table.

Ancelotti was full of praise for his side’s comeback but criticized their first-half performance, saying his team could not show “two sides”.

“It’s hard to explain how bad we were in the first half and how good we were in the second, and that was with a minority,” Ancelotti said.

“We deserve three points, but we can’t show these two teams. Extremely bad in the first half, extremely good in the second with 10 men.”

While Ancelotti praised Bellingham for his comeback, he also expressed concern that his side missed three of their last four penalties, including two from Mbappé.

“It bothers me that we missed three penalties. I think I have to take responsibility for deciding who takes the penalty,” he said.

“Bellingham didn’t lose faith after missing the penalty, it gave him extra motivation. Only he can handle his last 30 minutes. He made extraordinary efforts.”

The Italian coach added that the club would appeal against Vinícius’ red card.

“We believe it was not a red card… but the team responded to this difficulty. We will appeal, I don’t know if they will accept it,” Ancelotti said.