La Liga
Alaves
Dec 14, 2025 8.00pm
1
2
HT : 0 1
FT
Real Madrid
  • Victor Parada Gonzalez 6' yellowcard
  • Carlos Vicente 68' goal
  • Abde Rebbach 87' yellowcard
  • Abde Rebbach 90'+1' yellowcard
  • Ander Guevara 90'+3' yellowcard
  • goal Kylian Mbappe 24'
  • goal Rodrygo 76'
  • yellowcard Vinicius Junior 80'

Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid: Highlights, man of the match, stats as Rodrygo comes to Real Madrid's rescue

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Rodrygo to the rescue: Alonso's blushes spared as Real Madrid survive scare and scrape past Alaves
© Imago / ZUMA Press Wire

Rodrygo spared Real Madrid's blushes by scoring a crucial winner to seal a narrow 2-1 victory over Alaves in La Liga on Sunday night.

Real Madrid started stronger from the kick off, eventually taking the lead on the 24th-minute through Kylian Mbappe's stunning strike, and Los Blancos briefly thought they had swiftly doubled their lead when Jude Bellingham converted, only for a handball decision to go against the midfielder. 

Despite Alaves significantly improving from then on, starting to get on top of the match and having far more opportunities than their visitors in the final stages of the half, Real Madrid were able to narrowly keep their lead intact going into the break.

The tempo dropped in the early stages of the first half as the game became a timid affair, but it was Alaves who struck next as Carlos Vicente scored after Real Madrid were caught out by a long ball forward. 

However, Alaves remained level for just a matter of minutes before Rodrygo came to the rescue, scoring a crucial winner for Real Madrid in the 76th-minute, sealing a narrow 2-1 win in a largely disappointing performance. 

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

Xabi Alonso entered into tonight's match under intense pressure, with many reports suggesting that anything other than a victory could lead to his dismissal, and while they did manage to take all three points, it was far from a positive performance. 

Los Blancos looked static, lethargic and often played without any intensity in either defence or attack, with Alaves enjoying numerous long periods of possession without any pressure from the Real Madrid side. 

In fact, both of their goals came from two of the only moments in which Real Madrid injected some pace into their attacks, with a sweeping counter resulting in Mbappe's opener and a long ball forward allowing Vinicius Junior to race forward and assist Rodrygo's winner.

As a result, Alaves - especially in the first half - were able to slowly push Los Blancos deeper and deeper into their half and force them to defend inside their own box, which is one of their biggest weaknesses, especially with their makeshift back four tonight. 

Although Los Blancos did survive from those situations, largely thanks to Courtois, they were lazily caught out by a simple long ball forward for Alaves' eventual goal, with only the brilliance of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Mbappe sparing their blushes. 

As has often been the case for Real Madrid this term, the magnificent ability of their front players came to the rescue, with Mbappe's first-half stunner followed by the Brazilian duo combining to score the winner in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in Alonso's career as Los Blancos boss.

Despite the victory, which takes Real Madrid to within four points of Barcelona at the top of the standings, their performances simply have to improve in the coming weeks, especially if Alonso is to silence the critics and rumours surrounding his position at the club.

ALAVES VS. REAL MADRID HIGHLIGHTS

Kylian Mbappe goal vs. Alaves (24th min, Alaves 0-1 Real Madrid)

Mbappe scores for Real Madrid!

The ball is played into Bellingham in a central area inside his own half, and the England international quickly feeds a pass through the Alaves defence to Mbappe. 

Mbappe cuts in from a wider left position into the box and beautifully curls his effort into the top right corner - Antonio Sivera had no chance!

Carlos Vicente goal vs. Real Madrid (68th min, Alaves 1-1 Real Madrid)

Vicente equalises for Alaves!

The ball is fed into Antonio Blanco inside the Alaves half, and the midfielder quickly fires a long ball over the top of the Real Madrid defence to Vicente. 

Vicente spectacularly brings the ball into his control with his first touch and then calmly strikes past Thibaut Courtois and into the right corner.

Rodrygo goal vs. Alaves (76th min, Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid)

Rodrygo scores - Real Madrid really needed that!

A long pass is played towards Vinicius Junior on the left wing, and the Brazilian pushes Jonny Otto aside and breaks into the penalty area. 

Vinicius squares the ball with the outside of his right foot, and Rodrygo is there to poke the ball into the net from close range.

MAN OF THE MATCH - RODRYGO

To put it simply, very little quality was on display for a majority of tonight's match, so our man of the match award goes to the man who scored the winner. 

Real Madrid's front four all demonstrated their quality in glimpses tonight, but a lack of consistency was on display from the entire team, with Rodrygo's vital winner ensuring Los Blancos narrowly scraped past Alaves. 

While Rodrygo is our pick thanks to scoring the winner, Bellingham does also deserve particular credit for his performance, including winning the most duels and creating the most chances of any player.

ALAVES VS. REAL MADRID MATCH STATS

Possession: Alaves 52%-48% Real Madrid

Shots: Alaves 6-13 Real Madrid

Shots on target: Alaves 2-6 Real Madrid

Corners: Alaves 5-7 Real Madrid

Fouls: Alaves 12-13 Real Madrid

BEST STATS

WHAT NEXT?

Alaves' attention now turns to the Copa del Rey, with a clash against Sevilla in the round of 32 scheduled for Wednesday night, followed by a return to La Liga action against Osasuna next weekend. 

Meanwhile, Real Madrid travel to take on lower-league CF Talavera in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, followed by a clash with Sevilla in La Liga next Saturday.

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