Real Madrid move closer to Barcelona as Mbappe and Vinicius net against Alaves football news

Real Madrid narrowed the gap on top Barcelona to six points by beating relegation-threatened Alaves 2-1 in La Liga.

With the help of one goal each from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid defeated Alaves 2-1, ending their four-match winning streak and moving closer to Spanish league leader Barcelona.

Tuesday’s win at the Bernabeu stadium left Madrid six points clear of Barcelona, ​​who host sixth-place Celta Vigo on Wednesday.

It was Madrid’s first game since being eliminated by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Madrid lost the second leg 2–1 at home and 4–3 in Germany. The team’s last two Spanish league matches were a 1–1 draw against Verona and a 2–1 defeat at Mallorca.

Madrid got off to a slow start on Tuesday and the crowd at the Bernabeu looked worried as Alaves had few chances to score early on. Some fans jeered as the team struggled. There was still some jubilation after the final whistle when Alavés scored a late goal.

Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with a shot that deflected off an Alaves defender and fooled goalkeeper Antonio Civera. Mbappe, the league’s leading scorer with 24 goals, had not found the net in a league game since February.

Vinicius increased Madrid’s lead by scoring from long distance in the 50th minute. The Brazil forward had not scored in his last six matches between club and country.

Sitting one point above the relegation zone, Alaves brought it closer with a Toni Martínez goal in second-half stoppage time.

Alaves have won only one of their last nine league matches. The only win came at Celta Vigo in March.

Madrid and Brazil defender Eder Militao had to be replaced just before halftime due to an injury, which Madrid said was not serious.

Spain goalkeeper Unai Simeone saved a penalty kick and made a couple of other key stops to help ninth-place Athletic Bilbao earn a 1-0 win at home to midtable Osasuna.

Mallorca played out a 1-1 draw with visiting Valencia.

Fifth-placed Real Betis won 3-2 at 11th-placed Verona, with Rodrigo Riquelme scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute.