Mbappé sent off in the 1st half but Real Madrid beats Alaves in Spanish league

MADRID — Real Madrid overcame Kylian Mbappé's red card for a reckless tackle in the first half to win 1-0 at Alaves and get back to within four points of Spanish league leader Barcelona on Sunday.

Mbappé was sent off shortly before the break after coming in hard for a studs-up challenge on Alaves midfielder Antonio Blanco.

The France star was initially shown a yellow card but the referee changed it to a red after video review.

Mbappé hadn't seen a red card since 2019 while still playing for Paris Saint-Germain. He will miss at least the Spanish league game at Athletic Bilbao next Sunday.

''Kylian is not violent, he has apologized,'' said Madrid assistant coach Davide Ancelotti, who was in charge on the bench because of a yellow-card suspension for his father, Carlo Ancelotti, who watched from the stands.

''He knows what he has done,'' Davide Ancelotti said. ''It's a clear red-card foul and he paid for it.''

Alaves also played with 10 men from the 70th minute after Manu Sánchez was sent off for a foul on Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior.

Barcelona had increased its lead over Madrid with a 1-0 win at Leganes on Saturday.

The victory snapped Madrid's three-game winless streak in all competitions, a run that included Tuesday's 3-0 loss at Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Carlo Ancelotti rested some of his regular starters ahead of the second leg on Wednesday in the Spanish capital.

''The victory gives us confidence," Davide Ancelotti said. ''It was what we were looking for and we knew it wasn't going to be easy.''

Alaves, which has only two wins in its last 11 league games, stayed in 17th place, just outside the relegation zone.

Fight for fourth

Both fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao and fifth-placed Villarreal won their matches. Athletic beat Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at home and Villarreal defeated sixth-placed Real Betis 2-1 on the road.

Athletic has a six-point lead over Villarreal, which has a game in hand. Betis is a further three points back.

Villarreal rallied with goals from Thierno Barry and Ayoze Pérez after Aitor Ruibal had put the hosts ahead three minutes into the match. It was Betis' first loss after nine games without defeat.

Athletic got a pair of goals by Oihan Sancet and one by Nico Williams against 10th-placed Rayo. The victory ended Athletic's streak of three straight draws across all competitions.

Osasuna beat Girona 2-1 to move to 12th place and end a three-game losing streak against the Catalan club in the league. It hadn't won in nine matches in all competitions.

Girona, which had two goals disallowed, hasn't won in nine straight league matches, with six losses and three draws. It sits in 16th place.

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