After a fine collaboration with Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé turned sharply in the penalty area and scored the 2-0 goal for Real Madrid in the 40th minute on Santiago Bernabéu in the Spanish capital.
Admittedly, the new acquisition – who joined from Paris Saint-Germain last summer – scored a goal in the super cup final against Atalanta in mid-August, but Mbappé then went goalless in three straight La Liga matches.
Now the Frenchman has responded with five goals in the last four league matches and one goal in the Champions League premiere against Stuttgart.
With his five league goals, including three penalties, he is overshadowing Barcelona's top scorer Robert Lewandowski, who has six goals.
Against Alavés, Real Madrid took the lead after just 55 seconds through Lucas Vázquez. The start of the second half was almost as tough for the away team – after three minutes, Rodrygo extended to 3-0.
The match seemed decided, but in the final stages, Carlos Benavídez and Kike García were able to reduce the score twice within a minute. However, the reigning champions were able to hold on and now have 17 points after five wins and two draws in seven matches.
Barcelona tops the table with a maximum 18 points from six played matches.