Mbappe Fires Real Madrid Past Valencia to Close on Barcelona

BARCELONA: Kylian Mbappe scored his 23rd La Liga goal of the season as Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-0 win away to Valencia on Sunday, moving to within one point of leaders Barcelona. Alvaro Carreras opened the scoring midway through the second half before Mbappe sealed the victory in stoppage time. Despite missing Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, Madrid did enough to stay in the title race. Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Real Betis, slipping further behind the top two in the standings.