Kylian Mbappe scored his 38th goal of the season as Real Madrid claimed a seventh straight La Liga victory to cut the gap to leaders Barcelona to just one point.

The French forward converted a low cross in second-half stoppage time to clinch the win after Alvaro Carreras had put the visitors ahead earlier in the second half.

Madrid had struggled to break down a disciplined Valencia outfit until Carreras bundled his way past two defenders before steering a low, right-footed effort into the net to break the deadlock 20 minutes into the second half.

Alvaro Arbeloa's side, who were without the suspended Vinicius Junior and the injured Jude Bellingham, enjoyed plenty of early possession without troubling Stole Dimitrievski in the Valencia goal.

They soon began to threaten, though, and Arda Guler had a low shot deflected wide before Dimitrievski parried a powerful Mbappe drive out of harm's way.

The Valencia keeper then produced an even better save to tip David Jimenez's first-time strike wide of the far post.

Valencia's best chance of the first half fell to the lively Arnaut Danjuma but his left-footed drive was deflected wide by Raul Asencio, while Lucas Beltran flicked a Danjuma delivery wide of the far post early in the second period.

Beltran almost restored parity five minutes after Carreras' opener, but the forward's first-time, left-footed effort struck the outside of the post.

Mbappe's late goal made sure of the three points and that Real matched Barcelona's victory over Mallorca on Saturday to end the weekend as they started it, one point apart.

Valencia stay 17th but are now just one point above the bottom three – although they have played a game more than all three teams in the relegation zone.

Alexander-Arnold makes Madrid return

England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold returned after being out for two months with a thigh injury.

The right-back has been limited to just 16 appearances in all competitions since joining Madrid and has provided two assists.

The injury was his second of the season, having already missed six weeks with a hamstring strain.

Alexander-Arnold's return comes as Bellingham continues his recovery following a hamstring injury.

Bellingham was in tears after pulling his left hamstring less than 10 minutes into Madrid's 2-1 win against Rayo Vallecano last weekend.

Reports suggest the midfielder could be out for a month.

Bellingham will be hoping to be fit in time for the March international break, where England manager Thomas Tuchel will have his last opportunity to coach the players before naming his World Cup squad in May.

England play friendlies against Uruguay on 27 March and Japan on 31 March.

England's World Cup opener is against Croatia on 17 June. (BBC)

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