Kylian Mbappe Ends La Liga Drought in Madrid's 2-1 Victory
Kylian Mbappe finally snapped his La Liga drought, Eder Militao limped off after a cruel slice of misfortune, and yet the mood at the Santiago Bernabeu still curdled into jeers at full-time.
Real Madrid beat Alaves 2-1, but nothing about this felt comfortable.
Mbappe back on the league scoresheet
Under pressure, short on confidence, and staring at the prospect of a second straight season without a major trophy, Madrid needed their star to drag them forward. Mbappe obliged.
On the half-hour, the France captain picked up the ball just outside the box and let fly. His shot clipped a defender, wrong-footed Antonio Sivera and nestled in. Goal number 24 in La Liga this season. His first in the competition since early February.
The numbers look good. The timing matters more. Mbappe had kept scoring in Europe – including in both legs of the 6-4 Champions League exit to Bayern Munich – but a knee injury and a lean spell in the league had allowed Barcelona to disappear into the distance at the top.
Here, at least, he looked like a man intent on changing the narrative.
He forced Sivera into another strong save soon after, a reminder that when he senses blood, he keeps coming.
Militao’s painful collision with the crossbar
Madrid’s night, though, came with a familiar sting.
Defender Eder Militao, still rebuilding after long-term knee trouble in his career, saw his evening cut short in a moment that summed up the club’s uneasy season. Attacking a set piece, he rose and glanced a header onto the crossbar, only to injure himself in the process.
The ball shook the frame. Militao felt it more.
He tried to continue but couldn’t. Before the interval, he had to come off, leaving the Bernabeu anxious again about the state of a back line that has already absorbed too many blows.
For a team already wobbling under scrutiny, another defensive concern is the last thing Alvaro Arbeloa needed.
Nervy night despite the win
Alaves, fighting relegation and unbeaten in four coming in, refused to play the role of timid visitors.
Angel Perez broke clear early on, only to make the bizarre choice to pass instead of shoot with just Andriy Lunin in front of him. Toni Martinez then forced Lunin into action from a pocket of space, underlining Madrid’s fragility.
Even after Mbappe’s opener, the tension never really left. Martinez hit the post from close range, then saw Lunin claw away his follow-up. The warning signs kept flashing.
Vinicius tried to settle it. Early in the second half, he stepped up from 25 yards and lashed a fierce drive past Sivera to give Madrid breathing room. A thunderbolt, struck with conviction, that felt like a release.
Brahim Diaz almost added a third, denied only by a superb headed clearance off the line. Madrid pushed, but never fully killed the game.
Alaves wouldn’t let them. Victor Parada’s diving header smacked the upright, another jolt of fear through the stadium, and in stoppage time Martinez finally got his reward with an inventive flicked finish to make it 2-1.
The whistle went. Instead of relief, a wall of boos rolled down from the stands.
Arbeloa under fire, six games to save face
The table offers some comfort. The win ends a two-match winless run in La Liga and drags Madrid back to within six points of leaders Barcelona, who host Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
The mood around the coach does not.
“We have six matches coming up, the next one in three days. The aim is to win those matches – that's the goal we've set ourselves as a team,” Arbeloa said afterwards, brushing aside the noise around his own future. “I don't care much about what's at stake for me personally. What matters to me is what's at stake for Real Madrid.”
The reality is harsher. The Champions League dream is gone after Bayern. The domestic title is slipping away. Injuries keep biting at key moments. Even a night when Mbappe scores and Vinicius thunders one in from distance ends with the crowd turning.
Six games left. A star striker rediscovering his league touch. A defender nursing another knock after colliding with the crossbar. A coach under siege.
Where does this season go from here?
