Vinicius Jr rescues Real Madrid from the brink to silence Valencia boo boys

Los Blancos were far from their best but the Brazilian was on form

Vinicius Junior responded to a hostile reception from Valencia fans with a brace to rescue Real Madrid with a 2-2 draw on Saturday night at Estadio Mestalla in a game that ended with controversy

Carlo Ancelotti's side had a golden opportunity to go nine points clear of second-placeGirona as the title race begins to reach its climax, but Los Blancos may live to rue their lackluster first-half performance if their title rivals win their game in hand.

Hugo Duro put the hosts in front on 27 minutes after heading home from a Fran Perez ball into the box, with Valencia looking dangerous on the counter.

And only three minutes later, Los Che doubled their lead. Roman Yaremchuk stunned the visitors after pouncing on a miscommunication between Dani Carvajal and Andriy Lunin, tapping home into the empty net to leave his compatriot looking red-faced.

But right on the stroke of halftime, Real Madrid clawed their way back into the contest — and it simply had to be Vinicius Junior to score the goal. After boos and jeers every time he received the ball, he stepped up to bring the leaders back from the brink.

The Brazilian, back at the Mestalla a year after accusing fans of allegedly racially abusing him, had the last laugh with a goal in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time, bundling home at the far post.

Both goalkeepers were forced to make decent stops, with Lunin keeping out Duro this time with a smart stop and Giorgi Marmardashvili denying Jude Bellingham a goal on his return to the team.

Ancelotti sent on Brahim Diaz and Luka Modric in search of an equalizer midway through the second half, and the pair would repay their boss by having a part to play in the