Ten-man Real Madrid overcome lowly Alaves 1-0 after Mbappe sees red

Defending La Liga champions Real Madrid secured a nervy 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Deportivo Alaves on Sunday, after a reckless foul by Kylian Mbappe reduced the visiting side to 10 men late in the first half.

Eduardo Camavinga gave Real the lead in the 34th minute, scoring from outside the box with a brilliant curled shot, after an earlier strike by Raul Asencio was ruled out following a VAR (Video Assistant Referee) check.

Mbappe's violent tackle on Alaves midfielder Antonio Blanco left Real a man down before halftime. The player count was level again in the second half, however, after Vinicius Jr. was subjected to a similar foul by Manu Sanchez, who was sent off in the 70th minute.

Second-placed Real Madrid have 66 points from 31 matches and sit four points behind leaders Barcelona, who edged Leganes 1-0 on Saturday.

Real, who on Tuesday suffered a 3-0 loss at Arsenal in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal showdown, have struggled in all competitions this month as they continue to try to close the gap on Barca.

They were without suspended coach Carlo Ancelotti, after the Italian saw his fifth yellow card in last weekend's loss to Valencia. He watched from the stands as Real were managed by his son and assistant coach, Davide Ancelotti.

With Spain's national team coach Luis de la Fuente in the crowd, defender Asencio thought he put Real in front after 19 minutes, nodding home from a corner.

His effort was chalked off after a VAR review showed that Asencio supported himself by grabbing an Alaves defender for leverage, while Antonio Ruediger had knocked down goalkeeper Jesus Owono seconds earlier in the same play.

Camavinga gave Real the lead 15 minutes later, scoring inside the left post after a smart one-two with Federico Valverde. It was the midfielder's first league goal since March 2022.

Things nonetheless got tricky for the visitors in the 38th minute when Mbappe was shown a straight red for taking down Blanco, as the referee overturned his initial decision of booking him with a yellow after consulting with VAR.

Alaves managed to swing possession in their favor after the restart, and forward Carlos Martin put Thibaut Courtois to work with a low strike from outside the area during a threatening spell by the hosts.

It was, however, 10 versus 10 after Alaves defender Sanchez also saw red for fouling Vinicius. Owono denied Jude Bellingham from close range in the late minutes, and 1-0 is how it ended.