Unfolding Drama: Madrid Edges Alavés as Mbappé and Rodrygo Deliver in La Liga

Match Highlights

Real Madrid secured a hard-fought victory over Alavés in La Liga's Round 15.

Goals from Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo gave Madrid the win, with Carlos Vicente scoring Alavés' lone goal. Madrid moved to 39 points in second place, four behind leaders Barcelona, while Alavés sit on 18 points in 12th.

The game featured a refereeing controversy when Víctor García Verdura denied a late penalty for Madrid in the 87th minute after Vinícius Júnior went down in the box following a tussle with defender Teinália. Madrid players argued for a spot-kick, but the referee allowed play to continue without a VAR review, drawing criticism.

Veteran officiating expert Pérez Burull told Radio Marca that the incident warranted a clear decision: Vinícius controlled the ball and was brought down. If the referee believed it was a dive, a yellow card should have followed; otherwise play should have been stopped for a review—the non-call was hard to justify.

Burull added that the lack of decisive decisions in such moments fuels debate, especially in the final minutes, and urged a more explicit intervention from the officiating crew.

Here is a summary of the Real Madrid vs Alavés match:

You can watch highlights here: https://youtube.com/embed/pr75h4Rq4ZM

Two light-hearted lines to end: 1) If precision were a weapon, Mbappé’s finish would be the sniper shot of the night; the defense? Just a cardboard cutout. 2) And if VAR had a sense of humor, it would be screaming “replay!” every time Vinícius picks up the ball.