Last time Vinicius Junior played at Valencia he was hounded by racial abuse.
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Real Madrid's Brazilian forward got a measure of revenge on Saturday by scoring twice as his side came back from 2-0 down to share the points at the Mestalla Stadium.
Madrid thought they had won it when Jude Bellingham headed what appeared to be a last-gasp goal, but the referee blew the final whistle moments before the ball crossed the line.
England forward Bellingham was red-carded for his protests.
Vinicius struck in the 50th and 76th minutes to wipe out first-half goals from Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk.
Last May's racial attack was among the worst of abuse the player has had to repeatedly endure in Spain.
It led to an upswell of support for the Brazil forward and forced soccer authorities to take action - although the insults continued.
While there were no immediate reports of more racial slurs on Saturday, a large group of spectators chanted "Vinicius is stupid" and booed him loudly throughout.
After his first goal, Vinicius held up his fist toward the Valencia fans behind the goal and after his equaliser he cupped his ears towards his tormentors.
Following the game, Vinicius posted an image of himself raising his fist on his Instagram account, accompanied by the words, "The fight continues".
"Vinicius played a very good game," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
"He was decisive for us, even though he was more effective in the area than outside it.
"(Defender Dimitri) Foulquier played a great game defending him, so he had to find his spaces inside the area and he scored two very important goals."
Ancelotti said Bellingham "was frustrated but did not insult" the referee, even though the player swore in English as he protested against the decision.
Madrid lead La Liga with a seven-point advantage over second-placed Girona and nine ahead of Barcelona in third.
Seventh-placed Real Sociedad lost 3-2 at Sevilla.
Sociedad started the season strongly, but have lost five of their last six games across all competitions.
Getafe's 15-goal striker Borja Mayoral had to be substituted late in his team's 3-3 draw with Las Palmas with what looked like an injury to his left leg.
The hosts wasted leads of 2-0 and 3-2, with visiting Las Palmas levelling for the final time through Munir El Haddadi in the 57th minute.
Rayo Vallecano's 1-1 draw at home with Cadiz was paused for several minutes in the second half when hail pelted the field during a heavy storm.
Australian Associated Press
