Real Madrid got their LaLiga title charge back on track with a 2-0 victory over Valencia on Thursday night.
Los Blancos went with the same starting line-up from the stalemate against Real Sociedad over the weekend, while Valencia began life without head coach Gennaro Gattuso.
The hosts came into the clash eight points behind league leaders FC Barcelona, but they were unbeaten in their last four matches against Valencia.
The first chance of the game fell to Karim Benzema in the 23rd minute in a dead-ball situation, although the striker was unable to find the target from close range.
While the home side were struggling to break Valencia down, they were dealt a blow on 35 minutes as Eder Militao was unable to continue after a collision, with Dani Carvajal brought on as his replacement.
Madrid had the ball in the back of the net in first-half stoppage time through Antonio Rudiger, but the goal was ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for a foul.
Los Blancos got their reward seven minutes into the second half as Marco Asensio collected a pass from Benzema before rifling the ball into the top corner from distance.
Real would go on to grab a second goal two minutes later as Vinicius Junior got his seventh league of the campaign with a neat finish after mazy run into the box.
That proved to be Benzema's final bit of involvement, as the Frenchman was replaced by Rodrygo while Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were also introduced on 65 minutes.
Things went from bad to worse for Valencia on 72 minutes after they were reduced to ten men after defender Gabriel Paulista was shown a straight red card.
Ancelotti's charges dominated in the remaining stages with the numerical advantage, but the goal early goals in the second half were enough to seal maximum points for the defending league champions.
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