Vitoria-Gasteiz, April 13 Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Alaves at Mendizorroza to claim three crucial points in La Liga, thanks to a first-half strike from Eduardo Camavinga. Carlo Ancelotti’s side played over half an hour with ten men after Kylian Mbappe was shown a red card, but held firm to see out the victory.
Los Blancos started the match strongly and nearly took the lead inside ten minutes. Antonio Rudiger delivered a superb long ball to Arda Guler, who found himself one-on-one with Owono. The young Turkish forward couldn't convert, and despite contact from the goalkeeper, the referee waved away penalty appeals.
Madrid thought they had gone ahead in the 18th minute when Asensio scored from a corner, but the goal was controversially ruled out after VAR spotted a foul by Rudiger on the Alaves keeper during the build-up.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 31st minute. Fede Valverde combined neatly with Camavinga at the edge of the box, and the French midfielder slotted the ball past Owono to make it 1-0. Alaves responded with a near miss from Carlos Vicente, whose effort went just wide.
Drama struck in the 38th minute when Mbappé, initially booked for a late challenge on Blanco, saw his yellow card upgraded to a red after a VAR review, leaving Madrid with ten men.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Madrid defended resolutely in the second half. The situation leveled out in the 70th minute when Alaves’ Manu Sánchez was sent off for a last-man foul on Vinícius Jr. following another VAR review.
Madrid had chances to extend their lead late on. Valverde fired a powerful shot just wide, and Jude Bellingham was denied in a one-on-one by Owono in the 89th minute. Dani Ceballos made a brief return from injury during stoppage time as Madrid closed out the match.
--IANS
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