Mbappé, Vinícius Keep Real Madrid’s Title Dream Alive With 2-1 Win Over Alavés

Real Madrid are refusing to concede the La Liga title race to arch-rivals Barcelona, and they backed up that belief with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Deportivo Alavés on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu. The win trims Barcelona’s advantage at the top of the table to just six points and keeps Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the hunt with five matches left to play.

The breakthrough came in the 30th minute when Kylian Mbappé latched onto a through ball and finished clinically past the Alavés keeper to put Real ahead. The French forward’s strike settled early nerves and gave Los Blancos control of the contest. Real doubled their lead shortly after halftime, with Vinícius Júnior converting in the 50th minute following a swift counter-attack, putting the hosts 2-0 up and seemingly in command.

Alavés, however, refused to go quietly. They pushed forward in the closing stages and were rewarded with a late consolation goal in the final minutes, setting up a tense finish. But Real Madrid held firm to secure all three points and keep the pressure on the league leaders.

The result leaves Real Madrid on 73 points from 33 matches. Barcelona remain top with 79 points, but have played two games fewer with 31 matches completed. That gap is now down to six points, and with a potential El Clásico still to come, the title race remains alive.

For Real, the equation is simple: keep winning and hope Barcelona slip up. Wednesday’s performance showed they have no intention of giving up the chase.