Madrid, Aug 28 (IANS): The Valencia squad of Marcelino Garcia Toral came close to downing defending La Liga champions Real Madrid, but at the last minute Marco Asensio saved the tie.

On Sunday, Real Madrid started strongly though they knew it was going to be a tough match. However, Marco Asensio together with Modric and Isco came in with a high degree of creativity to help the side draw level, reports Efe.

Just 10 minutes into the match, Asensio made a run up the middle and with a deft left-footed shot into the net made it 1-0.

Valencia's Soler dominated the ball in the area close to the net and tied it up at the eighth minute, after which Real Madrid struggled to stay in the game.

With Christian Ronaldo suspended, Madrid lacked the offensive punch that would otherwise have put more pressure on Marcelino Garcia's squad.

In the second half, Zinedine Zidane's team was back on the offensive to own the ball but Valencia put up a serious defence.

Then the visitors turned things around and went on the attack. Midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia took a back pass from Rodrigo in the 77th minute and placed a low shot into the net to put Valencia on top 2-1.

But all was not lost for the defending champs as Asensio saved the day with his second score in the 88th minute with a low free kick that got past goalkeeper Neto.

Real Madrid had caught up with Valencia 2-2, and that was the game, but for the fans at Bernabeu, a disappointment.