Madrid, Dec 15 (IANS) Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo scored to give Real Madrid a 2-1 win away to Alaves, trimming the gap to La Liga leader FC Barcelona to four points.

Mbappe opened the scoring in the 24th minute after an excellent run before firing into the top corner.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a fine save to deny Pablo Ibanez on the stroke of halftime, but Carlos Vicente leveled for Alaves in the 68th minute with a goal initially ruled offside before VAR overturned the decision, reports Xinhua.

Rodrygo restored Real Madrid’s lead in the 76th minute after good work from Vinicius Jr, but then left the pitch with a calf injury.

FC Barcelona won 2-0 at home to Osasuna, with Raphinha scoring both goals in the last 20 minutes.

His first goal came from outside the area, while the second was slotted home from close range four minutes from time.

Sevilla claimed a 4-0 win against struggling Oviedo, who remains rooted in the bottom three and without a win in eight games since Luis Carrion returned as coach.

The game was virtually over by the 22nd minute after Akor Adams and Djibril Sow had put Sevilla 2-0 up, with Batista Mendy scoring a neat individual goal in the 51st minute and Chidera Ejuke wrapping things up one minute from time.

Oviedo’s day was made worse by David Carmo’s 82nd-minute red card, and the club announced later in the day that Carrion had been sacked.

Celta claimed its first home league win of the season with a 2-0 triumph over Athletic Bilbao, with Williot Swedberg and Jones El-Abdellaoui scoring after 48 and 55 minutes, while Athletic’s Nico Williams had a tame penalty saved.

The game scheduled on Sunday between Levante and Villarreal was postponed due to a red alert for heavy rain in the Valencia region.

–IANS

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