Kylian Mbappe continued his red-hot form as Carlo Ancelotti celebrated his 300th match in charge of Real Madrid with a nervy 3-2 LaLiga victory over Alaves.
Stand-in captain Lucas Vazquez put the hosts ahead inside a minute at Santiago Bernabeu before Mbappe’s sixth goal in five games in all competitions doubled the advantage.
Rodrygo’s solo effort early in the second half ultimately ensured unbeaten Real moved back to within a point of leaders Barcelona after quickfire late goals from Alaves pair Carlos Benavidez and Kike ensured an anxious finish.
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 24, 2024
Ancelotti, enjoying his second spell as Real manager, is the club’s joint-most successful coach, alongside Miguel Munoz, having won 14 trophies, including three Champions League successes.
Vinicius Junior returned to the Italian’s starting XI as part of four changes following Saturday’s 4-1 comeback win over Espanyol while the recalled Vazquez took the armband from the injured Dani Carvajal.
The restored duo combined to devastating effect as the hosts took the lead with just 54 seconds on the clock.
Vinicius breezed past Santiago Mourino on the left before pulling the ball back for Vazquez to fire a first-time finish into the bottom-left corner.
Real were dominating possession and stretched their advantage five minutes before the break.
Mbappe burst into the box after exchanging passes with Jude Bellingham before calmly cutting inside Moussa Diarra to fire home.
The home side were in complete control of the scoreboard three minutes after the restart when Rodrygo capped a fine individual run by slotting through the legs of Alaves goalkeeper Antonio Sivera.
Real looked certain to coast to victory before being made to sweat following two goals in two minutes from the visitors.
🏁 @realmadriden 3-2 @Alaves⚽ 1’ @Lucasvazquez91 ⚽ 40’ @KMbappe ⚽ 48’ @RodrygoGoes ⚽ 85’ Carlos Benavídez⚽ 86’ Kike García#RealMadridAlavés | @emirates pic.twitter.com/eHYjZFrDAi
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 24, 2024
Uruguayan midfielder Benavidez claimed Alaves’ first, curling home from the edge of the D via the left post.
Former Middlesbrough striker Kike, who was on as a substitute, burst into the box to finish into the bottom-right corner just a minute later to stun the home crowd.
Despite the drama, Ancelotti would not be denied three points on his milestone occasion as Real hung on for a fifth successive win in all competitions ahead of Sunday’s derby at Atletico Madrid.
