The Real Madrid title race is not over yet. It is still narrow, fragile and dependent on Barcelona slipping, but Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Alaves stopped the pressure from turning into collapse. Madrid moved to 73 points, six behind Barcelona, and ended a four-match winless run in all competitions at the exact moment another stumble would have pushed the league further out of reach.
Why the Real Madrid title race still refuses to close
Kylian Mbappe gave Madrid the lead after 30 minutes with a low strike from outside the box that took a heavy deflection off Jonny Otto. Vinicius Junior then doubled the advantage five minutes after the restart with a precise low finish from distance. Madrid controlled long stretches, hit the woodwork through Eder Militao before the break, and looked set for a cleaner night before Toni Martinez pulled one back deep into stoppage time.
When one result starts asking bigger questions
In a title race, one win does not suddenly hand control back to the chasing side. It changes the pressure map. Madrid have cut the gap to six, but Barcelona still have their game against Celta Vigo to come on Wednesday. That means Madrid’s win did not settle anything. It simply forced the leaders to answer. That is how late-season league pressure works: the team behind must keep winning, then wait for the table to react.
Madrid also needed this for emotional reasons, not just mathematical ones. They came into the match after a Champions League exit to Bayern Munich and after failing to win their previous two La Liga matches. Another dropped result would have deepened the sense that the season was slipping away on every front. Instead, they bought time, restored some order, and kept the league alive for at least another round.
The table is tighter, but the margin is still cruel
There is another consequence here. Alaves left Madrid with nothing and remained 17th, only one point above the final relegation place. So this was not a routine win over a harmless opponent. It came against a side fighting for survival, which partly explains why the game became messier late on. For Madrid, the lesson is blunt: they are still alive, but there is no cushion left. Every match now has to land like a final, because one more slip could turn this result into nothing more than a temporary delay.
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