Kylian Mbappe extended his scoring streak with his sixth goal in five games, as Real Madrid defeated Alaves 3-2 to move closer to leaders Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga on Tuesday.
Mbappe's seventh goal since moving to Madrid was a beauty, with the French forward starting a give-and-go with Jude Bellingham with a heel flick, and then picking up the pass inside the area and using a nifty move to clear a defender, before finding the net in the 40th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The French striker asked to be substituted out in the 80th due to a muscle ailment, according to Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, who added that the problem was not serious.
Lucas Vazquez and Rodrygo also scored for Los Blancos, who extended their unbeaten run in the league to 39 matches – with 29 wins and 10 draws – going back to last season.
Alaves made a late charge by scoring through Carlos Benavídez in the 85th minute and Kike García in the 86th, but couldn't come up with an equalizer despite several chances in the closing minutes.
"We played a great match for 80 minutes, but we suffered more than we should have in the end," Vazquez said.
Vazquez had put Real ahead just under one minute into the match with a shot from inside the area, after a nice run by Vinicius Junior through the left flank. Rodrygo extended Madrid's lead to 3-0 following a long run in the 48th minute.
Ancelotti, in his 300th game with the club, used most of his regular starters and did not immediately rotate his squad despite a congested schedule.
Vazquez started as a right back in place of regular starter Dani Carvajal, who was rested with fitness issues.
18-year-old Br azilan forward Endrick replaced Rodrygo in the 69th minute, his earliest appearance off the bench, and a couple of minutes later struck the post from inside the box.
Madrid complained about yellow cards to Vinicius, Federico Valverde and substitute Luka Modric for protesting in a game in which Madrid felt their players were often subjected to tough tackles.
"There is a different standard now and we have to adapt," Ancelotti said. "We have to stop protesting."
Alaves, whose players were not shown any cards, complained that a red card should have been shown to Endrick after the South American appeared to kick an opponent away from the play.
Real's next game will be their first capital derby of the season against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium.