Mbappe and Vinicius Junior give Real Madrid an unconvincing win over Alaves

[p]In dismal form and looking at back-to-back seasons without lifting a trophy, the hosts survived an early scare when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/carreras-alvaro/ALGEzlma/"]Alvaro Carreras[/a]’ hesitation allowed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/perez-angel/naR2L4Jt/"]Angel Perez[/a] to race through, but his decision to lay it back for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/boye-lucas/YiAqdTFb/"]Lucas Boye[/a] was the wrong one.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Madrid[/a] predictably dominated the first-half play from there but created next to no chances, and were fortunate to take the lead on the half-hour mark.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a] swivelled and took on a pot shot from outside the area, a gamble which paid off when it cannoned off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/otto-jonny/thYdCQaj/"]Jonny Otto[/a] to outfox [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sivera-antonio/lMLBCMLN/"]Antonio Sivera[/a] and roll inside the near post.[/b][/p][embed guid="99b4c1cc-7feb-42f9-af28-462e7a680cac" url="https://x.com/LaLiga/status/2046686565737398291" social-type="twitter" /][p]Adjusting to meet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bellingham-jude/QNvlPm7s/"]Jude Bellingham[/a]’s cross, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eder-militao/zX2Rm9YG/"]Eder Militao[/a] then looped his shot against the bar, though [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/alaves/hxt57t2q/"]Alaves[/a] weren’t to be outdone as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinez-toni/rw0nledT/"]Toni Martinez[/a] did the same with his flick just before half-time.[/p][p]Los Blancos hadn’t shown much improvement from their previous four-match winless run in the first half, but the second brought immediate improvement, and it wasn’t long before their lead was doubled.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/valverde-federico/nscfER6B/"]Federico Valverde[/a] drove his side onward and played it forward to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vinicius-junior/CbwQ4Mws/"]Vinicius Junior[/a], who took Sivera by surprise with a sensational finish into the near bottom corner from distance.[/b][/p][embed guid="a66960ed-caf6-4c87-a1a2-e8ed9c570613" url="https://x.com/realmadrid/status/2046694585133408739" social-type="twitter" /][p]The home side continued to roll, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diaz-brahim/nm2Qvnyk/"]Brahim Diaz[/a] was unfortunate not to make it three when his curling effort was headed off the line by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tenaglia-nahuel/WAG63va3/"]Nahuel Tenaglia[/a].[/p][p]The visitors finally woke up after that, and Martinez had two more chances to force a nervy conclusion, first calling [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lunin-andriy/0S7ye9jr/"]Andriy Lunin[/a] into action before hitting the woodwork with a diving header.[/p][p][b]The Alaves forward did finally get his reward for a stellar display by backheeling [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guevara-ander/hMjEwTOg/"]Ander Guevara[/a]’s shot past Lunin, but it came deep into stoppage time and only served to deny Real Madrid a first clean sheet in nine LaLiga matches.[/b][/p][p]Back to winning ways for the first time in April, it may be too little, too late for Madrid, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] not likely to let up in their final seven matchdays – though the second of this season’s league Clasicos is still to come.[/p][p]With just one win from their last 10 league outings and each bottom-three club having won two of their last three matches, it’s starting to look precarious for Los Albiazules, but Quique Sanchez Flores would never have banked on this one as a reliable source of points.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vinicius-junior/CbwQ4Mws/"]Vinicius Junior[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/alaves-hxt57t2q/real-madrid-W8mj7MDD/?mid=8WSYepie"]Click here for more on the match[/a][/b][/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="397dc816-e0f3-4510-967e-ed99b6dcc169" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="099b01a1-1f07-4f85-911e-bcc1cca92c7b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /]