LaLiga: Mbappe and Vinicius Strike as Real Madrid Edge Alaves too Cut Barca Lead

Late Alaves goal denies Madrid clean sheet in nervy Bernabeu win

Real Madrid laboured to a 2-1 win vs Alaves. Mbappe and Vinicius scored before Martinez’ stoppage-time backheel denied them a clean sheet.

Unconvincing Real Madrid ended a four-game winless run with a 2-1 win over Alaves. Mbappe’s deflected strike and Vinicius’ stunner sealed it...

Real Madrid put pressure on Barcelona by cutting the gap at the top of LaLiga to six points. Their 2-1 win at the Bernabeu left Alaves in real danger of dropping into the relegation zone.

In poor form and facing back-to-back trophyless seasons, Madrid survived an early scare. Alvaro Carreras’ hesitation let Angel Perez run through, but his pass back to Lucas Boye was the wrong choice.

Madrid dominated possession from that point but created almost nothing. They were fortunate to take the lead on the half-hour mark.

Kylian Mbappe turned and hit a speculative shot from outside the box. It took a deflection off Jonny Otto, wrong-footed Antonio Sivera and rolled inside the near post.

Eder Militao adjusted to meet Jude Bellingham’s cross and looped his effort against the bar. Alaves responded before half-time when Toni Martinez did the same with a flick.

Real Madrid showed little improvement on their four-match winless run in the first half. The second half started better, and they soon doubled their lead.

 

Federico Valverde drove forward and slipped it to Vinicius Junior. He surprised Sivera with a sensational long-range finish into the bottom corner.

 

Madrid kept pushing and Brahim Diaz was unlucky not to add a third. His curling effort was headed off the line by Nahuel Tenaglia.

Alaves finally woke up after that. Martinez had two chances to set up a nervy finish, first forcing Andriy Lunin into a save before hitting the woodwork with a diving header.

⏸️ DC: @RealMadrid 1-0 @Alaves
⚽ 30' @KMbappe
👉 @Emirates pic.twitter.com/iDZ0F2VEzK

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) April 21, 2026

The Alaves forward finally got his reward for a stellar display, backheeling Ander Guevara’s shot past Lunin. But it came deep in stoppage time and only denied Real Madrid a first clean sheet in nine LaLiga games.

Back to winning ways for the first time in April, it may be too little, too late for Madrid. Barcelona are unlikely to slip up in their final seven games, though the second league Clasico of the season is still to come.

With just one win from their last 10 league games and the bottom three all winning two of their last three, it looks precarious for Alaves. But Quique Sanchez Flores would never have counted on this as a reliable source of points.