Kylian Mbappé continued his scoring streak with his sixth goal in five matches as Real Madrid won against Alaves 3-2, getting closer to league leader Barcelona in the Spanish league on Tuesday.
Mbappé’s seventh goal since joining Madrid was impressive. He started a give-and-go with Jude Bellingham using a heel flick, received the pass inside the area, and made a clever move to get past a defender before scoring in the 40th minute at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
He requested to be substituted in the 80th minute due to a muscle issue, but Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said it was not serious.
Lucas Vázquez and Rodrygo also scored for Madrid, which has now gone 39 matches unbeaten in the league, with 29 wins and 10 draws since last season.
Alaves made a late push, scoring through Carlos Benavídez in the 85th minute and Kike García in the 86th, but they could not equalize despite having chances in the final minutes.
“We played a great match for 80 minutes, but we suffered more than we should have in the end,” Vázquez said.
The win brought Madrid within one point of league leader Barcelona, which will try for its seventh straight victory of the season when it plays winless Getafe on Wednesday.
Mbappé now has seven goals in nine matches with Madrid across all competitions, including five goals in the Spanish league, making him just one goal behind leading scorer Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona.
The French star, who joined as a free agent after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, also had a goal ruled out for offside in the 22nd minute. Arda Güler replaced Mbappé in the 80th minute.
Vázquez opened the scoring for Madrid just one minute into the match with a shot from inside the area after a great run by Vinícius Júnior down the left side. Rodrygo increased the lead with a long run in the 48th minute.
Ancelotti, in his 300th match with the club, used most of his regular starters and did not rotate his squad right away, even though the schedule is busy.
Vázquez played as a right back instead of regular starter Dani Carvajal, who was rested due to fitness issues.
Teenage Brazilian forward Endrick came on for Rodrygo in the 69th minute, marking his earliest appearance from the bench, and just a few minutes later, he hit the post from inside the area.
Madrid players, including Vinícius, Federico Valverde, and substitute Luka Modric, received yellow cards for protesting, as they felt they were often targeted by tough tackles.
“There is a different standard now and we have to adapt,” Ancelotti said. “We have to stop protesting.”
Alaves, whose players did not receive any cards, argued that Endrick should have been given a red card after he seemed to kick an opponent away from the play.
Madrid’s next match will be the city derby against Atletico Madrid at Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium.
In another match, Sevilla midfielder Saúl Ñíguez was carried off on a stretcher with what looked like a leg injury early in the second half of Sevilla’s 2-1 home win against Valladolid.
Chidera Ejuke scored the winning goal in the 85th minute, giving Sevilla its second victory in the last three league matches.
Valladolid’s only win this season came in its league opener against Espanyol.
