Soccer Football - LaLiga - Deportivo Alaves v Real Madrid - Estadio Mendizorroza, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain - December 14, 2025 Real Madrid's Rodrygo celebrates scoring their second goal with Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe REUTERS/Pankra Nieto
Dec 14 (Reuters) - Rodrygo secured Real Madrid a crucial 2-1 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday in LaLiga, ending a dismal run of form and keeping them within four points of leaders Barcelona.
Real, under pressure after two straight losses in all competitions, broke the deadlock through Kylian Mbappe's stunning first-half strike.
However, a resilient Alaves levelled in the 68th minute through Carlos Vicente. The visitors restored their lead eight minutes later, courtesy of a counter-attack led by Vinicius Jr, whose assist was converted by Rodrygo.
The victory keeps Real second in the standings on 39 points, four adrift of Barcelona, while Alaves are 12th on 18 points.
(Reporting by Fernando KallasEditing by Christian Radnedge)
