Real Madrid finally won again. Kylian Mbappé’s 30th-minute goal and a second from Vinicius Júnior just after the break carried the Bernabéu side to a 2-1 victory over Alavés on Tuesday night, ending a four-match winless run that had cost the club ground in the La Liga title race and pulling Madrid to within six points of league leaders Barcelona. The Frenchman’s strike — his 24th in the league and a return to form after a February goal drought — keeps him as the division’s leading scorer and the favourite for a second consecutive Golden Boot.
The evening was not smooth. Éder Militão limped off before halftime with an injury that will be assessed through the week, Alavés pulled a stoppage-time consolation through Toni Martínez, and for long stretches the hosts played with the anxiety of a side that has been in front of its own fans through a month of disappointment. But the result was the point. A win, a goal for Mbappé, and a clear horizon from here to El Clásico.
A 30th-Minute Goal, and a Drought Broken
Mbappé’s opener was the kind that counts twice. First because of the goal. Second because of what it did for the player. He had not scored in La Liga since February — an eternity by his standards — and as his club searched for results, so did his own rhythm begin to loosen. The finish on Tuesday was not vintage. The shot deflected off an Alavés defender and spun past a goalkeeper who had been set for a different trajectory. The scoreboard does not ask which way the ball deflected.
The psychological release was evident. Mbappé was visibly louder in build-up for the rest of the first half, more willing to demand the ball in tight areas, and quicker to press when possession was lost. The scorer of 41 goals in 40 games across all competitions this season has not needed rediscovery in a technical sense. He has needed a single league goal to reset the clock.
Vinicius Finds the Second
Five minutes into the second half, Vinicius Júnior found the other end of a Madrid move and finished it cleanly to make it 2-0. The Brazilian’s role through this campaign has oscillated between brilliant and frustrated, with stretches of outstanding form punctuated by moments of individualism that have cost the team. On Tuesday, he played the teammate. He sat deeper at times to receive from midfield, attacked space rather than forcing the ball down the left channel, and converted when the chance arrived.
The combination of Mbappé and Vinicius on the scoresheet — uncoordinated in build-up, both finishing their own chances — is exactly the kind of result Xabi Alonso’s staff have been trying to engineer. Two forwards, two goals, and the possibility that neither was talking to the other for most of the move is not a flaw in this squad. It is a feature they can build around.
Militão Off, and Alavés Pull One Back
The game was not an advertisement for defensive composure. Militão limped off before the break with an injury that the club will assess over the coming days. The Brazilian centre-back’s absence has already shaped Real Madrid’s season once this year, and even a short-term layoff at this stage of the calendar opens a question over the defensive spine for the closing fixtures.
Alavés, to their credit, did not collapse. Toni Martínez’s strike in second-half stoppage time was the kind of consolation that is now mandatory in this league — every team can score at any time against any opposition — and the final minutes were more uncomfortable than a 2-0 lead should have been. Real Madrid will take it. Three points are three points.
The Clásico Suspension Watch
The scoreline is the story. The booking column, however, is the subtext. Mbappé has accumulated four yellow cards in the league. A fifth before the next clásico would trigger a one-match ban and rule him out of the fixture on May 10. Real Madrid’s next match is away to Celta Vigo this weekend, and Mbappé will have to play it on a disciplinary tightrope — tackles timed, frustrations managed, and an awareness that a casual foul in the middle third is a cost the club cannot afford.
It is, in a sense, the price of being the most important attacking player in a title chase. Every match is an opportunity. Every opportunity carries the risk of the one booking that reframes the calendar.
Six Points, Seven Matches, and a Title Race That Is Not Over
Six points is not three. It is a real gap, and with seven fixtures to play, it requires Barcelona to drop genuine points for Real Madrid to change the table from beneath them. But the landscape in Catalonia is now complicated. Lamine Yamal is out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, and the pressure on Barcelona’s remaining forwards will increase accordingly. The difference between six points and three is not only a matter of Real Madrid winning. It is a matter of Barcelona’s own reliability over the closing stretch.
For one night, Madrid did the only thing they could do. Scored twice, conceded once, and reset the conversation. El Clásico is still three-and-a-half weeks away. A lot of football, and at least four yellow cards, will travel before it arrives.
