Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior were on target as Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Alaves on Tuesday, keeping their faint La Liga title hopes alive.
Mbappe netted his league-leading 24th goal of the season—his first since early February—with a deflected effort from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Vinicius doubled the lead shortly after the interval, lashing home from long range. That strike proved decisive when Toni Martinez pulled one back for Alaves in stoppage time.
The win ended Madrid’s two-match winless run in La Liga and reduced the gap to leaders Barcelona to six points. Barça host Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
“We have six matches left, with the next one in three days. The objective is to win all of them. That is the target we have set as a team,” said Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa, whose position is facing growing scrutiny.
He added: “I am not overly concerned about what is at stake for me personally. What matters is what is at stake for Real Madrid.”
Madrid are on course for a second consecutive season without a major trophy, following their Champions League quarter-final exit to Bayern Munich last week. Mbappe scored in both legs of that 6-4 aggregate defeat, but a lean spell in La Liga—partly due to a knee injury—coincided with arch-rivals Barcelona pulling clear at the top.
The home side endured early pressure from relegation-threatened Alaves, who arrived unbeaten in four matches. Ángel Pérez broke through the Madrid defence but opted to pass rather than shoot with only goalkeeper Andriy Lunin to beat. Martínez later tested Lunin after finding space inside the box.
Mbappe put Madrid ahead when his strike from just outside the area deflected off a defender, wrong-footing goalkeeper Antonio Sivera. The France captain then saw another effort pushed away by Sivera, while Éder Militão struck the crossbar and was forced off with an injury before half-time.
Martínez nearly levelled for Alaves, prodding a cross against the post before Lunin clawed away his follow-up effort. Vinicius then hammered in from 25 yards to give Madrid breathing room, and Brahim Díaz was denied by a superb goal-line clearance.
Alaves continued to push forward as Víctor Parada’s diving header hit the upright. Martínez eventually grabbed a consolation with an inventive flick in stoppage time, though loud jeers greeted the final whistle at the Bernabéu.
Elsewhere in La Liga, Real Betis came from behind to win 3-2 at Girona, with Rodrigo Riquelme netting the winner ten minutes from time. Gorka Guruzeta’s first-half goal gave Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 home victory over Osasuna, while Mallorca and Valencia drew 1-1.
