With a great goal from Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid had fun even though they ended up calling time (3-2) against Alaves (8th), this Tuesday in a match on the seventh day of the League.
Lucas Vazquez (minute 1), Mbappe (40), and Rodrygo (48) celebrated on what seemed like a peaceful night for the European champions. Carlos Benavidez (85) and Kike Garcia (86) added excitement to the final stretch.
With this victory, Real Madrid (2nd) is now on 17 points, one behind the leader Barcelona.
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The first minute had not even been completed when Vinicius broke down the left and set up Lucas Vázquez, Dani Carvajal’s replacement at right back and as captain, to appear like a battering ram in the area to open the scoring.
Mbappe made it 2-0, his fifth goal in La Liga, the most spectacular since he landed in Spain. He back-heeled the ball to Jude Bellingham, who passed it back into space for the Frenchman to take care of the rest, a lethal dribble and a shot full of confidence.
Until now, despite the numbers, the French star had multiplied his anxious, hasty shots, without the timing of the chosen ones.
But Mbappe is becoming more refined, precise, and comfortable with his teammates. He played up front, with Vinicius on the left and Rodrygo on the right, Bellingham behind, in a magical quartet that Carlo Ancelotti has not wanted to rotate, despite the strength from the bench of the insolent Endrick, who has enough merit to be a starter at 18 years old.
Alaves had been a friend at the Santiago Bernabeu until the final stretch. At half-time, they had given up, with Moroccan center-back Abdel Abqar asking Mbappe for his shirt before entering the changing rooms.
Right at the start of the second half, Rodrygo, seeking the recognition that his three attacking teammates had, scored a solo shot on the right that ended with a shot with almost no angle that went in under the legs of goalkeeper Antonio Sivera.
Endrick came on for Rodrygo, with half an hour to continue showing his worth. His first shot, after winning a tussle, hit the crossbar.
In the final stretch, Alaves took advantage of Real Madrid’s mistake with the changes – Mbappe came off with muscle discomfort – to come close to a comeback.
Abde Rebbach hit the post (78) and then two great goals were scored by Uruguayan Carlos Benavidez, with a precise shot, and Kike Garcia, control and definition with a small angle.
Protesoni scored with a shot from outside the area shortly after Rebbach had hit the post, and Kike García scored Alaves’s second after taking advantage of a ball behind him. The scare frustrated the debut of youth player Jacobo Ramon, who had already appeared on the field from the touchline, but Ancelotti sent him back to the pens. Suddenly, he was close to losing what he had accumulated. After the development of the match, the end left a strange relief at the Bernabeu.
In the final minutes of the match, the Madrid team tightened their defense and ended up controlling the attempted rebellion by an Alaves team that, despite that push at the end of the match, ended up leaving the Spanish capital empty-handed.
The victory was the fourth in a row for Real Madrid between La Liga and the Champions League. The Whites are now just one point behind first place in the table, which is occupied by FC Barcelona with 18 points. The Catalans play at home against Getafe on Wednesday.
