Key keywords: Real Madrid 2-1 Alaves, Kylian Mbappe La Liga goal, Vinicius Junior match winner, La Liga 2024/25 standings, Barcelona La Liga lead reduced, 2025 La Liga title race, Santiago Bernabeu La Liga fixture, Jude Bellingham assist Real Madrid secured a crucial 2-1 comeback win over Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, as goals from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior cut Barcelona’s lead at the top of La Liga to just two points, reigniting the 2024/25 title race with 12 matches remaining in the season. The visitors got off to a shock start in the 11th minute, when forward Kike Garcia capitalized on a misplaced pass from Antonio Rudiger to slot past Andriy Lunin and put Alaves 1-0 up against the run of play. Real Madrid dominated possession from the opening whistle, finishing the match with 69% ball control and 23 total shots compared to Alaves’ 7, but struggled to break down the away side’s deep, organized defensive block for much of the first half. The equalizer finally arrived in the 34th minute, when Jude Bellingham played a perfectly weighted through ball into the path of Mbappe, who rifled a low shot past Alaves goalkeeper Antonio Sivera for his 17th La Liga goal of the campaign. The second half saw Real Madrid ramp up the pressure, with Rodrygo, Mbappe and Vinicius combining repeatedly to stretch Alaves’ backline. The winning goal came in the 73rd minute, when Vinicius got on the end of a cross from Ferland Mendy, chested the ball down and fired a half-volley into the top corner to send the Bernabeu crowd into wild celebrations. Alaves came close to snatching a late equalizer in stoppage time, when substitute Samu Omorodion hit the post with a curling effort from the edge of the box, but Real Madrid held on to claim all three points. Speaking after the match, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti praised his side’s resilience: “We knew this would be a tough match, Alaves are very well organized and they made it difficult for us to create clear chances for long periods. I’m proud of how the players kept pushing, and this result gives us a huge boost ahead of the final stretch of the season. We know we have to keep winning every match if we want to catch Barcelona, and today’s performance shows we have the mentality to do that.” The result means Barcelona now hold just a two-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table, with the two sides set to face off in the second El Clasico of the season at the Camp Nou in three weeks’ time, a fixture that is already being billed as a potential title decider for the 2024/25 campaign.