Real Madrid 2-1 Deportivo Alavés: Los Blancos Grinden una Victoria Vital en el Bernabéu
Real Madrid edged past Deportivo Alavés 2-1 at the Bernabéu, returning to winning ways after a mixed run of form that included defeats and draws in recent La Liga outings.
2-1
Match Summary
Real Madrid returned to winning ways on Tuesday evening at the Santiago Bernabéu, edging out Deportivo Alavés 2-1 in a La Liga fixture that proved less straightforward than many anticipated. The result delivered three crucial points for Carlo Ancelotti's side, though Alavés made them work hard for every one of them before the final whistle.
Heading into the game, Real Madrid had shown a frustrating inconsistency in form — a derby victory over city rivals Atlético Madrid in March had been followed by a damaging defeat away at Mallorca and a draw at home to Girona. The pressure was on Los Blancos to rediscover their ruthlessness, and while they managed the win, a defensive lapse allowed Alavés to grab a consolation goal and ensure nerves were jangling in the stands until full time.
Alavés, for their part, arrived in the capital having drawn their last two league matches and won at Celta de Vigo in late March. Their recent form — two draws and a win prior to this fixture — suggested they were capable of causing problems, and they duly did. The Basque side refused to sit back and accept a heavy defeat, pressing with purpose and finding their way onto the scoresheet despite the gulf in individual quality.
Turning Point
Real Madrid's ability to hold their two-goal advantage, even after Alavés pulled one back, ultimately proved the difference between the sides. The moments after conceding can define a team's mentality, and Madrid's composure in managing the final stages of the match spoke to the experience within their squad. There were moments of anxiety, but they held firm.
Our pre-match AI model had predicted a 3-1 home win with 65% confidence, also assigning a 70% probability to a Real Madrid victory. The prediction got the winner right but slightly overstated Madrid's dominance — the 2-1 margin reflecting a closer contest than many models envisaged, with both teams scoring as the model's 54% both-teams-to-score probability suggested they might.
What It Means
For Real Madrid, this result ends a worrying mini-run of inconsistent performances. The three points will do as much for morale as they do for the table, injecting momentum into a squad that had looked uncertain in recent weeks. Winning when not at your best is a hallmark of champions, and that quality was on display here.
Alavés, meanwhile, can take some encouragement from their display despite the defeat. Scoring away at the Bernabéu is no small achievement, and their pressing play caused Madrid difficulties at times. However, the loss brings their challenging run to a close, and attention turns quickly to a domestic schedule that demands points elsewhere.
This was a workmanlike victory rather than a statement one for Real Madrid — efficient, occasionally unconvincing, but ultimately decisive. In the grind of a La Liga title race, those kinds of results are worth just as much as the spectacular ones.