Rodrygo's winner lifts Real Madrid past Alaves to end losing streak

Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Dec 14 : Rodrygo secured Real Madrid a crucial 2-1 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday in LaLiga, ending a dismal run of form and keeping them within four points of leaders Barcelona.

Real, under pressure after two straight losses in all competitions, broke the deadlock through Kylian Mbappe's stunning first-half strike.

However, a resilient Alaves levelled in the 68th minute through Carlos Vicente. The visitors restored their lead eight minutes later, courtesy of a counter-attack led by Vinicius Jr, whose assist was converted by Rodrygo.

The victory keeps Real second in the standings on 39 points, four adrift of Barcelona, while Alaves are 12th on 18 points.

The narrow triumph in the Basque Country provided manager Xabi Alonso with much-needed breathing space after a run of two wins from their previous eight matches across all competitions.

Sunday's victory demonstrated Real's resilience and ongoing weaknesses. Despite taking a 24th-minute lead through Mbappe's spectacular strike, they found themselves outplayed by an Alaves side roared on by a sold-out Mendizorrotza stadium.

Mbappe had opened the scoring in trademark fashion after Jude Bellingham threaded a long pass to the French forward, who ran down the left channel before cutting inside and unleashing a bullet strike into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Despite Real's early lead, Alaves grew dominant as the first half progressed. The hosts pressured Real's makeshift defence, which featured 19-year-old academy graduate Victor Valdepenas in his senior debut at left back.

Alaves' pressure was eventually rewarded in the 68th minute when substitute Vicente, introduced moments earlier, latched onto Antonio Blanco's long ball and surged past