Real go top as late Bellingham strike earns 2-1 win at Valencia

VALENCIA, Spain, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Late strikes from Luka Modric and Jude Bellingham earned 10-man Real Madrid a 2-1 comeback win at relegation-threatened Valencia on Friday as the visitors moved top of the LaLiga standings.

Real Madrid were a goal down with five minutes to go, but mounted another trademark comeback with Bellingham's winner arriving seven minutes into stoppage time as Real moved on to 43 points, two clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand.

The match, rescheduled due to devastating floods in the region late in October, kicked off in a tense atmosphere after home fans clashed with police during protests against the club outside the Mestalla stadium.

On the pitch, however, it was a thrilling start, as Real's Federico Valverde and Valencia's Hugo Duro both went close to breaking the deadlock within the first minutes, only to see their efforts blocked.

Duro then put Valencia ahead in the 27th minute by tapping into an open goal after ...
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