Real Madrid put some pressure on Barcelona by reducing the gap at the top of La Liga to six points with a 2-1 victory at the Bernabeu against Deportivo Alavés, putting the visiting team in danger of relegation at the end of the week.
In poor form and risking two consecutive seasons without a trophy, the home side survived an early danger when Álvaro Carreras' hesitation allowed Ángel Pérez to get ahead, but his decision to pass the ball to Lucas Boyé proved to be the wrong one.
Real Madrid dominated the game in the first half, but created few chances and were lucky to take the lead in the 30th minute.
Kylian Mbappe turned and shot from distance, and the ball deflected into the net after a contact with Jonny Otto, fooling goalkeeper Antonio Sivera.
Then, Éder Militão hit the post after a cross from Jude Bellingham, while Alavés also came close to scoring through Toni Martínez.
In the second half, Real Madrid immediately improved their play and quickly doubled their lead.
Federico Valverde advanced the action and passed the ball to Vinicius Junior, who scored a spectacular goal from distance into the bottom corner of the goal.
The team continued to create chances, and Brahim Díaz was close to a third goal, but his shot was stopped on the line.
In the end, Alavés reacted and Toni Martínez managed to score in extra time, avoiding a goalless match after many weeks.
The victory puts the team back on the path to success after a long period without a win, but it still remains difficult to rival Barcelona in the title race, even though the second "El Clásico" of the season has not yet been played.
Currently, Real has 73 points, six less than Barcelona in first place with 70, and with one game less.
Meanwhile, Alaves is 17th with 33 points, one more than Elche who is in 18th position, which sends them to La Liga 2./Express newspaper/
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