Carlo Ancelotti praises Real Madrid's 'indomitable spirit' after comeback win at Valencia

La Liga giants move top of the table thanks to 2-1 victory at Mestalla that saw visitors score twice in final four minutes

Karim Benzema celebrates with Luka Jovic after scoring Real Madrid's second goal against Valencia. Getty Images

Karim Benzema scores Real Madrid's second goal against Valencia. Getty Images

Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring the equalising goal against Valencia. Getty Images

Vinicius Junior shoots to score Real Madrid's equaliser against Valencia. Getty Images

Hugo Duro celebrates with teammates after scoring Valencia's first goal against Real Madrid. Getty Images

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti issues instructions to his players from the touchline. Getty Images

Real Madrid forward Lucas Vazquez of Real Madrid gets set to put in a cross as Valencia's Hugo Duro attempts to lunge in with a block. Getty Images

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric attempts to move the ball clear of Valencia's Hugo Guillamon. Getty Images

Real Madrid defender David Alaba skips over a challenge from Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista. Getty Images

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior is challenged by Gabriel Paulista. Getty Images

Valencia's Dimitri Foulquier attempts to shield the ball from Vinicius Junior. Getty Images

Viniucius Junior remonstrates with Valencia's Dimitri Foulquier. Reuters

Carlo Ancelotti and Karim Benzema celebrate Real Madrid's win over Valencia. AFP

Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard walks past Carlo Ancelotti as he leaves the pitch. AFP

Lucas Vazquez (L) vies for the ball with Hugo Duro. AFP

Karim Benzema tussles with Valencia's Yunus Musah. AFP

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti lauded his players' "indomitable spirit" after they scored two late goals to beat Valencia 2-1 on Sunday and extend their unbeaten start to La Liga.

Valencia took the lead at the Mestalla when Hugo Duro struck midway through the second half, but Vinicius Jr levelled in the 86th minute before sending in a cross for Karim Benzema to head the visitors in front two minutes later.

The victory came four days after Madrid beat Inter Milan in the Champions League with an 89th-minute goal from Rodrygo. The Spanish side have now scored six goals in the final five minutes in five games in all competitions this season, and Ancelotti believes it shows his team have plenty of determination to match their talent.

"I have a team that scraps and fights whether they are playing well or playing badly," Ancelotti said. "We didn't beat them thanks to our quality, we did it thanks to our indomitable spirit. We kept going right until the end."

The win took Real to the top of La Liga's standings but Ancelotti expects his side to continue to improve as the season progresses.

"We have quite a young team and I'll be the first person to admit we're not playing spectacular football at the moment," he said.

"We didn't play well in the first half, we attacked well on the break but we were pegged back a lot and when you sit too deep it's easy to concede goals."

The defeat was hard to digest for Valencia manager Jose Bordalas, whose side overcame first-half injuries to Carlos Soler and Thierry Correia and had dominated the game until Madrid's late fightback.

"We're sad because the team made an incredible effort after the problems we had with Carlos and Correia," he said. "We did exactly what we wanted to do and played much better than them, pressing them high and controlling the game. We played 75 perfect minutes but we couldn't afford to drop our concentration for even a second.

"We were a little unlucky but we should have managed the last few minutes better. We didn't read the game well and ended up paying for our mistakes."