Real Madrid beat Alavés 2-1 on Tuesday at the Bernabéu, with Kylian Mbappé opening the scoring on the half hour and Vinícius Júnior adding a long-range second early in the second half, before Toni Martínez pulled one back in stoppage time.
Mbappé struck for the first time in the league since early February with a deflected shot on the half hour, Channels Television reported, and the goal broke a drought that had stretched across the winter months. Vinícius’s strike came from distance, and the two goals were enough to end a run of poor results that had left Madrid under pressure.
The win ended a two-match winless run in La Liga and moved Real Madrid back to within six points of leaders Barcelona, keeping the club’s slim title hopes alive as the season runs down. Barcelona were due to host Celta Vigo on Wednesday, a fixture that could immediately alter the margin at the top of the table.
Tuesday’s game was tense throughout. Dean Huijsen produced an early block to deny Lucas Boyé, and goalkeeper Andriy Lunin parried a low effort from Toni Martínez as Alavés threatened on several occasions. Eder Militão hit the crossbar and was forced off with an injury shortly before half-time, a blow for Madrid’s defence that underlined the narrowness of the victory.
Alavés nearly grabbed equalisers at multiple points — Toni Martínez hit the post and later had a volley saved by Lunin, and Víctor Parada struck the post with a diving header. Madrid’s substitutes also had to work to preserve the lead: Brahim Díaz had a shot cleared off the line after coming on.
The result carried immediate significance: it halted Madrid’s recent slide in domestic form and kept them in touch with Barcelona. Newspapers and websites tracking real madrid games had catalogued a worrying spell for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, and this win buys time in a season where every point matters.
That buying of time, however, is fragile. There is a clear tension between the way the scoreboard looks and the way the team performed. Officially the match stopped a two-game winless streak, but Goal.com reported that Real Madrid had gone four matches without a win before beating Alavés, a discrepancy that highlights how narratives around momentum can diverge depending on which results are counted and how morale is measured.
Injuries and late defensive lapses also complicate the positive outcome. Militão’s forced exit after striking the crossbar removes a stabilising presence, while the stoppage-time goal by Toni Martínez underlined a propensity to concede in dangerous moments — a habit that can undo any lead in the coming weeks.
Real Madrid’s standing in La Liga remains precarious. Pulse Sports Nigeria had reported that Madrid lost 2-1 to Mallorca and drew 1-1 with Girona after the international break, and that they were trailing Barcelona by nine points with seven matches remaining. Tuesday’s victory narrows the gap to six, but it does not erase the sequence of results that created the deficit.
What happens next matters more than the cheer at the final whistle. Barcelona’s fixture against Celta Vigo on Wednesday will determine whether Madrid’s win puts genuine pressure on the leaders or simply slows their slide. Madrid must also contend with injuries and a defence that flirted with danger all night; unless they shore up those vulnerabilities, the six-point gap will feel both smaller and no less daunting.
For now, the victory offers a simple, necessary truth: Real Madrid remain alive in the title race. Whether this match becomes a turning point or a brief reprieve will depend on how the team responds in the coming games and whether key players return to full fitness while adding consistency to the performances fans expect in the closing weeks of the season.
