Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger, centre, and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham have fun their victory on the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Alaves and Real Madrid on the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, on December 21, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP
With a late goal after a lackluster efficiency, Real Madrid discovered its option to victory and to the highest of the Spanish league standings.
Lucas Vázquez scored with a header in stoppage-time and Madrid pulled off a 1-0 win on the street in opposition to Alaves to reclaim first place after Girona conceded a late equalizer in its 1-1 draw at Real Betis earlier on Thursday.
Madrid and Girona are tied on 45 factors however Madrid was forward on a tiebreaker. Defending champion Barcelona was third, seven factors off the lead. The Catalan membership edged last-place Almeria 3-2 at residence on Wednesday.
Madrid acquired the late win regardless of taking part in with 10 males from the 54th minute after central defender Nacho Fernández was despatched off with a straight crimson card for a tough foul.
“It was a complicated match, and with a player down everybody thought that maybe today we were going to lose,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti mentioned. “But this team finds energy out of nowhere. We held tough and in the end we got rewarded.”
Vázquez was left free inside the world to attain the winner with a header after a well-placed corner-kick cross by Toni Kroos.
Alaves coach Luis García was furious by the bench after the goal, kicking objects, throwing his jacket, screaming and even grabbing a workers member by the jacket and shoving him back to his seat.
“We can’t let Lucas finish by himself like that,” he mentioned afterward. “You can’t let the game slip away from you like that, against 10 men, in the final minutes.”
Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo, the leaders of Madrid’s assault this season, had been stored in verify throughout a lot of the match in a poor efficiency by Ancelotti’s staff at Mendizorroza Stadium. Neither staff was in a position to create many important scoring possibilities.
Nacho was initially proven a yellow card after stepping on an opponent whereas going for the ball, however video evaluation known as the referee and it was decided the Madrid defender deserved a straight crimson card.
After Nacho was despatched off, Ancelotti was compelled to exchange Luka Modric with midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, who went into Nacho’s place in the center of the protection.
Madrid has been taking part in with a squad depleted by accidents, particularly in protection. Last Sunday, David Alaba turned the third Madrid participant to tear an anterior cruciate knee ligament. Éder Militão and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois additionally sustained the identical sort of harm.
Antonio Rüdiger began alongside Nacho in protection on Thursday.
Forward Rodrygo needed to be helped off the sector with one other obvious harm in stoppage time, although Ancelotti later mentioned the Brazil ahead was simply drained.
Madrid has conceded solely 11 targets up to now this season, the perfect mark amongst all Spanish league golf equipment. It is unbeaten in its final 17 video games in all competitions.
It was the third loss in a row for Alaves, which is sitting in sixteenth place, three factors clear from the relegation zone.
Madrid’s subsequent league recreation is at residence in opposition to Mallorca on Jan. 3. Alaves visits Real Sociedad on Jan. 2.
GIRONA’S SETBACK
Girona opened the scoring with a penalty kick transformed by Artem Dovbyk in the thirty ninth, however the hosts equalized with Germán Pezzella in the 88th after a unfastened ball inside the world.
It was solely the second time Girona did not win in its final 12 matches in all competitions. It had gained eight of its final 9 league matches, together with 4-2 at Barcelona two rounds in the past. A 3-0 loss to Madrid at residence in September is the staff’s lone defeat up to now this season.
It confronted one other powerful check in opposition to a Betis staff that is combating for European locations and is but to lose at residence in the league.
“This goal in the end is very upsetting, we thought we had it won,” Girona captain Aleix García mentioned. “But we have to value this point, they pressure a lot here. We have to maintain this dynamic and recharge our batteries for what’s ahead.”
Girona’s subsequent league match is one other troublesome one, in opposition to fourth-place Atletico Madrid at residence on Jan. 3.
SOCIEDAD HELD
Sixth-place Sociedad couldn’t handle greater than a 0-0 draw at relegation-threatened Cadiz.
The hosts sit in seventeenth place, simply exterior the demotion zone, and haven’t gained in 16 consecutive matches in all competitions.
Sociedad is now winless in three straight video games.
MALLORCA RALLIES
Mallorca got here from behind to defeat Osasuna 3-1 at residence.
It was the second win in the final three league matches for Mallorca, which moved to 14th place.
Osasuna, sitting in thirteenth place, has gained solely one among its final eight league video games — 1-0 in opposition to Rayo Vallecano in the earlier spherical.
