Mbappe returns at Alaves to ease Real pressure on Madrid coach Alonso

French superstar Kylian Mbappe scores on his return from injury to help Real Madrid to a crucial 2-1 win at Alaves.Published On 14 Dec 2025Kylian Mbappe’s and Rodrygo Goes’s goals earned Real Madrid a tense 2-1 win at Alaves in La Liga to potentially keep coach Xabi Alonso in his job.Madrid, second, reeled league leaders Barcelona’s advantage back to four points and recorded only their third victory in the last nine games across all competitions.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Photos: Angry fans vandalise India stadium after Messi’s early departurelist 2 of 4PSG vs Flamengo: All to know about FIFA Intercontinental Cup final in Qatarlist 3 of 4Elite cheats slip through net as athletics anti-doping system has ‘stalled’list 4 of 4Ongoing Taliban-Olympic talks hope to prompt Afghan women’s rights U-turnend of listAfter a home defeat by Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, Spanish media reported that anything but a victory would cost Alonso his position.Following Mbappe’s superb opener on Sunday, Carlos Vicente pulled Alaves level in the second half, but Rodrygo secured the visitors a much-needed victory at Mendizorrotza Stadium.Alonso was able to bring his key player, Mbappe, back into the side after he could only watch the defeat by City from the bench due to knee discomfort.The coach also handed a debut to Victor Valdepenas at left-back, with both Alvaro Carreras and Fran Garcia suspended, and Ferland Mendy being one of several players out injured.Mbappe appeared to be feeling his knee and hobbling in the first few minutes, but despite that, he was the game’s most influential player.The forward had a shot deflected wide and then fired narrowly over as Alaves sat deep and tried to keep the 15-time European champions at bay.By the time Mbappe opened the scoring in the 25th minute, his discomfort seemed to have cleared up.Released by Jude Bellingham, Mbappe drove towards goal at full tilt and whipped a shot into the top right corner for his 17th league goal of the campaign.