Reigning LaLiga champions, Real Madrid held on for a tense 1-0 victory against struggling Alavés on Sunday, despite being reduced to 10 men late in the first half due to a reckless challenge by Kylian Mbappé.
The breakthrough came in the 34th minute when Eduardo Camavinga found the net with a superb curling strike from outside the area.
Earlier, Raul Asencio thought he had opened the scoring for Alavés, but his goal was disallowed following a VAR intervention.
Real’s task grew more difficult when Mbappé was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Alavés midfielder Antonio Blanco just before the break.
However, the numerical disadvantage was short-lived, as Alavés were also reduced to 10 men in the second half after Manu Sanchez received his marching orders for a foul on Vinicius Junior.
With the win, second-placed Madrid now have 66 points from 31 matches, trailing league leaders Barcelona by four points. Barcelona had narrowly defeated Leganes 1-0 the previous day.
Alavés, meanwhile, remain perilously close to the drop zone in 17th place with 30 points.
