Lethargic Real Madrid Trudge To Victory Over Alaves

The Santiago Bernabéu is a stadium that rarely accepts a win as a substitute for excellence, and Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Alavés last night was a case study in hollow triumphs. On paper, it is three points that mathematically keep the La Liga title race breathing. In reality, it was a lethargic, joyless trudge that felt more like a public apology than a football match.

As we wake up this Wednesday morning, the “9-point chasm” feels less like a gap and more like a mountain range. With Barcelona sitting on 79 points and a game in hand against Celta Vigo tonight, Álvaro Arbeloa’s side is staring at a horizon where even a perfect run-in might not be enough. The match against Alavés followed the grim script of Real Madrid’s recent weeks. Coming off the back of a soul-crushing Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich and a domestic slump that saw them drop points to Girona and Mallorca, the team looked emotionally and physically bankrupt.

Kylian Mbappé broke his goal drought in the 30th minute, but even that lacked the typical “Galáctico” sparkle. It was a shot that took a significant deflection off an Alavés defender, looping beyond Antonio Sivera. It was his 24th of the campaign, yet the celebration was muted, a reflection of a player who knows he hasn’t been the transformative force he was bought to be.

Vinícius Júnior then doubled the lead in the 50th minute with a long-range strike, but the reaction was telling. Instead of his usual dancing, he raised his hands to the stands in a gesture of apology. He had been whistled since the warm-ups, and the goal felt like a desperate attempt to sue for peace. But in typical 2026 Madrid fashion, the defense remained a sieve. Toni Martínez struck late for Alavés, and for the final five minutes, the Bernabéu was a chorus of whistles as Alavés hit the woodwork and threatened to snatch a point. Madrid has now conceded in nine consecutive league games, a statistic that is simply unsustainable for a title challenger.

The most striking element of yesterday’s atmosphere was the visceral hostility directed toward the squad’s most protected assets. In the house that Alfredo Di Stéfano built, no one is above the whistle, but the targets last night were specific and significant. Both Mbappé and Vinícius were subjected to whistling throughout the first half. The Madrid faithful seem to have reached a breaking point with the perceived lack of tactical discipline and “attitude” problems that have plagued the two for a while now. The fans are no longer mesmerized by the individual highlight reels; they are frustrated by the lack of a cohesive, sacrificial team identity.

The most painful moment for the neutrals came in the 70th minute. When Eduardo Camavinga was subbed on to stabilize the midfield, the Bernabéu erupted in a chorus of boos and whistles. It is clear that the fans haven’t forgiven his red card in the second leg against Bayern, a moment of madness that many feel “deprived” Madrid of a Champions League semi-final. For a player who was once the darling of the fans, to be whistled upon entry signals a toxic shift in the club’s relationship with its young core.

The math is a nightmare for Arbeloa. If Barcelona defeats Celta Vigo tonight, the lead returns to 9 points. In Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, we aren’t seeing the fragile, “Xavi-era” team that could be rattled by a single loss. We are seeing a high-pressing, structurally sound machine that has won five on the bounce. For Madrid to win this league, they need Barcelona to lose three times in their final seven matches while Madrid remains perfect. Given that Barcelona has only lost four times all season, the faint hope of a collapse feels like a fantasy. Flick has instilled a level of physical fitness and tactical rigor that makes a three-game stumble seem almost impossible, especially with Pau Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal playing with the composure of seasoned veterans.

The user’s correction is vital here: Madrid has beaten Barça just once this season. That solitary Clásico victory, a gritty affair earlier in the campaign, now feels like a statistical anomaly rather than a shift in power. Madrid’s problem is perhaps not the ability to “get up” for the big games; it’s their inability to dominate the “middle class” of La Liga. While they can find the motivation to beat a Barca or a Bayern on their day, they lack the structural discipline to grind down an Alavés or a Getafe without relying on individual brilliance.

Can Madrid capitalize if Barca drops points? History this season says no. Every time Barca has provided a glimmer of an opening (such as their loss against Girona last month), Madrid has managed to trip over their own shoelaces against “smaller” opposition. Arbeloa’s philosophy, heavy on energy and pride but light on intricate attacking patterns, is struggling against the low blocks that define the bottom half of the table. All eyes are now drifting toward May 10th and the Clásico at the Spotify Camp Nou. In Madrid’s ideal world, that match is a title decider. In reality, it is likely to be a guard-of-honor ceremony or a chance to merely reduce a double-digit lead to something slightly more respectable.

The boos for Vini, Mbappé, and Camavinga suggest a fanbase that has already looked past this season. They see a squad with the highest wage bill in the world failing to maintain domestic pressure on a rivals’ youth-led project. Arbeloa is currently fighting a war on two fronts: he is chasing a runaway leader and he is trying to stop his own locker room from fracturing under the weight of “Galáctico” egos. If Barcelona takes care of business tonight in Vigo, the lethargic trudge to victory against Alavés might well be remembered as the night the Bernabéu officially gave up on the 2025/26 title.