Real Madrid Beat Deportivo Alavés 3:0, Los Blancos Overcome Sluggish Start To Pick Up a Valuable Win

Real Madrid Beat Deportivo Alavés 3:0, Los Blancos Overcome Sluggish Start To Pick Up a Valuable Win

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:56 PM
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  • Real Madrid had a poor first half but Marco Asensio opened the scoring to get them rolling against Deportivo Alavés
  • Marco Asensio, Vinícius Júnior and Karim Benzema all got onto the scoreboard to guide Real Madrid to a win
  • Real Madrid bounced back after a disappointing loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League

Real Madrid went seven points clear in La Liga thanks to a 3-0 win over Deportivo Alaves.

Marco Asensio, Vinícius Júnior and Karim Benzema all got onto the scoreline in the second half to give Los Blancos the victory.

Real Madrid, Deportivo Alavés, Los Blanco, La Liga, Sport, Soccer, Football, Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio opened the scoring for Real Madrid as they beat Deportivo Alavés 3-0 in La Liga. Image: Javier Soriano.
Source: Getty Images

The first half could best be described as a snooze fest. The commentators even mentioned at the start of the second half, that if anyone missed the first 45 minutes, they didn’t miss much.

In a game that Sports Brief monitored, Federico Valverde missed a good chance in the 11th minute and Benzema fired a freekick way over the bar in the 20th.

Jason had the best chance of the game for either team as he blazed over the crossbar from close range, denying Alavés a chance to take the lead.

The second half started with Real Madrid on the front foot as Los Blancos knew they needed to find a winner. The 40 000 fans in the stadium were silent for much of the game as they showed their disappointment in the Real Madrid team. Benzema came closest to opening the scoring in the 54th minute when his shot was cleared off the line.

In the 61st minute, Alavés should have made it 1-0. Pere Pons Riera pounced on a loose back pass by Asensio and rounded Thibaut Courtois but rolled the ball wide.

The attempt woke Madrid up as fans realized how close they had come to going behind. Carlo Ancelloti’s reluctance to make substitutions had many fans and even the commentators wondering when the change would come.

Asensio made up for his mistake and gave fans something to smile about when he curled a ball into the back of the net from just outside the box. The player jeered the fans after scoring, urging them to show their support for the team.

Madrid pushed forward after scoring and often had balls cut out by the defenders or had their shots go well wide.

In the 74th minute, Benzema hit the post after latching on to a Vinícius Júnior pass. Just over 5 mins later, Benzema found Vinícius Júnior in the box and the Brazilian found the back of the net to make it 2-0. Following the goal, Ancelloti finally made his changes. It took 81 minutes to do so, but the Madrid coach brought on five new players in next to no time.

Madrid rounded off the scoring when Rodygro was brought down in the box, winning a penalty for Madrid. Benzema stepped up to put the ball away and notch up his 18th goal of the season.

Real finished as 3-0 winners, a result that made Madrid look a lot better than they were.

Real Madrid vs Deportivo Alavés: Los Blancos look to bounce back against an Alavés side battling relegation

Real Madrid will be looking to return to winning ways when they take on Deportivo Alavés in La Liga. Real Madrid top the La Liga table, four points ahead of Sevilla, while Alavés find themselves in the relegation zone in 18th place, four points short of safety, Sports Brief reported.

Alavés do come into the game on the back of a win, having beaten Valencia 2-1, their first win in three months, Goal.Com reported. It was also the second time since November 2021 that they scored two goals in a game.

Real Madrid comes into the game after losing their Champions League encounter to Paris Saint- Germain. Prior to that, they played out to a goalless draw against Villareal. It’s the first time since May last season that Real have failed to score in two consecutive games.

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Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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