Valencia produced a defensive masterclass to clinch a hard-fought 2-1 win over La Liga leaders Real Madrid in Wednesday night’s rescheduled clash at the Mestalla.

Los Blancos had a chance to put themselves four points clear of Barcelona at the top of the table with a game still in hand after the fixture, originally on matchday 16, was postponed due to their commitments in the World Club Cup.

Valencia opened the scoring in the fourth minute through Simone Zaza. Fabian Orellana doubled the lead just 5 minutes later as Valencia started brightlyin the match. Ronaldo was able to pull one back on the stroke of half time.

Madrid came back strong in the 2nd half but the equalizer proved ellusive.

The result means that Valencia climb to 14th place in the la Liga table, 10 points clear of the drop zone, while Real remain one point clear at the top of the table with one game in hand.