A hard-fought 1-0 victory over Alaves in round 18 helped Real Madrid return to the top of La Liga. In this round, Girona was held to a 1-1 draw by Real Betis.

Real Madrid marched to Alaves’ stadium in round 18 of La Liga on the evening of December 21 with the goal of victory. Because Girona was held to a 1-1 draw by Real Betis, if they win 3 points, Real Madrid will return to the top of La Liga.

Coach Ancelotti arranged for Kepa to start while Vazquez, Nacho and Fran Garcia played defenders. Before Alaves put the entire squad on defense, Real Madrid played with the striker pair Rodrygo – Diaz while Bellingham led the play.

Faced with Alaves’ deep, solid and well-covered defense, Real Madrid was completely stuck in scoring in the first half. Real Madrid always had difficulty marching to Alaves’ field because in the last 7 matches. Here, they have never once defeated the Basque club.

In the 38th minute, Valverde had a clear opportunity in the penalty area but he could not beat goalkeeper Sivera in a face-to-face situation. Real Madrid continued to deadlock in the second half and their situation became even more difficult when Nacho was sent off.

In the 52nd minute, the Spanish defender kicked Samu Omorodion’s leg. After receiving the signal and checking VAR technology, the referee withdrew the decision to issue a direct red card to Nacho.

Playing without players, Real Madrid still overwhelmed Alaves. In the 75th minute, Rodrygo passed the ball past two players, but the Brazilian player missed the post in the penalty area.

Putting all their effort into the attack, Real Madrid had another good opportunity in the 86th minute, but Rodrygo’s dangerous shot could not subdue goalkeeper Sivera.

It seemed like they had accepted the draw, but in the last minute of injury time, in a corner kick situation, the Alaves defense forgot Lucas Vazquez, allowing the defender to catch Kroos’s hanging ball and head in to score a 1-0 win. -0 for Real Madrid.

Real Madrid returned to the top of the La Liga table with 45 points, equal to Girona, but coach Ancelotti’s team is better in terms of sub-stats. Barcelona ranked 3rd with 8 points less.

Squad

Alaves: Sivera; Gorosabel (Tenaglia 78), Abqar, Marin, Duarte (Lopez 59); Guevara, Guridi (Hagi 59), Blanco; Rioja, Rebbach (Sola 72), Omorodion (Garcia 78).

Real Madrid: Kepa; Vazquez, Rudiger, Nacho, Fran Garcia; Kroos, Valverde, Modric (Tchouameni 55), Bellingham, Brahim Diaz (Joselu 76), Rodrygo (Ceballos 90).