Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid: Forward ends the worst goal drought of any Real Madrid forward to bring respite to his manager
Rodrygo scored his first La Liga goal since January to rescue Real Madrid from further trouble as they edged past Alaves 2-1. When the Brazilian tapped in from Vinicius’s square pass in the 76th minute manager Xabi Alonso ran down the touchline in some Flamenco dance performance. So under pressure has he been.
Pre-match reports suggested his position would be under serious threat if he lost the game to Manchester City in midweek. Madrid lost that game, but perhaps it could be excused given the absence of so many first-teamers and the fight they showed. But it was imperative that something positive happen against Alaves, especially after Barcelona opened up a seven-point gap with victory against Osasuna on Saturday.
Kylian Mbappe returned to the squad after missing the defeat to City and he quickly got on the scoresheet, controlling at the edge of the box and sending a curling effort past Alaves goalkeeper Antonio Sivera.
Madrid had more chances to go ahead but lacked a clinical edge. Bellingham had the ball in the back of the net but had handled the ball just before turning it in. In the second half Sivera denied Mbappe and Vinicius Junior in quick succession.
As the game went on Madrid grew sloppy and allowed Alaves back into the game. Substitute Carlos Vicente ran through a relaxed backline to superbly bring down a long pass and then shifted his body to finish sweetly past Thibaut Courtois.
The effort was initially flagged for offside but after a VAR check it was given, much to Alonso’s dismay. Raul Asencio reacted quickly to stop Lucas Boye from inflicting more pain on Los Blancos, before Rodrygo, who after ending his barren run in midweek had hugged his manager “to show everyone we’re united with our coach”, scored in La Liga for the first time since January.
Vinicius bolted past his marker down the left before drilling a low cross into the box, where Rodrygo arrived to end his long league drought and send Alonso tap dancing down the sideline.
