Real Madrid bounced back from their defeat to Paris Saint-Germain by defeating Alaves 3-0 in La Liga on Saturday, with Marco Asensio’s sensational goal putting Carlo Ancelotti’s side seven points clear at the top of the table.
The result, though, suited Madrid, who had failed to break down Alaves until Asensio unleashed a long-range strike at the Santiago Bernabeu, where the angry fans had whistled with the score goalless at half-time.
“We agreed with the fans,” said Carlo Ancelotti. “Nobody in the dressing room was happy with how we played in the first half.”
After Asensio’s goal, Vinicius Junior completed off a cut-back from Karim Benzema, and Benzema converted a late penalty after Rodrygo was pulled down in the area.
Sevilla can close the deficit to four points with a win against Espanyol on Sunday, but despite their poor record, Madrid remain the clear favourites to win the Spanish title.
Luis Suarez had earlier raised the mood at Atletico Madrid by scoring a spectacular long-range goal in a 3-0 win over Osasuna, ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Champions League match against Manchester United.
Real Madrid had only scored once in their previous four games — another Asensio stunner against Granada — and there had been special criticism following a lackluster performance against PSG last week, which resulted in a 1-0 loss in Paris.
