Rodrigo, once sidelined, became the savior for Alonso with consecutive goals and the winner, as Real Madrid secured a 2-1 away victory over Alavés.

At 4 a.m. on December 15th, Beijing time, during La Liga's 16th round, Real Madrid traveled to play Alavés. Following a Champions League defeat to Manchester City and only one win in their last five league games, they lost 9 points, allowing Barcelona to surpass them from a 5-point deficit to a 4-point lead. This game was considered a decisive moment for Alonso's tenure.

In the first half, Mbappé broke the deadlock with a solo run, Bellingham’s goal was disallowed, and Courtois made an excellent save, leaving Real Madrid ahead 1-0 at halftime; in the second half, Carlos Vicente equalized for Alavés, but the Brazilian duo connected again as Vinícius assisted Rodrigo, who scored consecutive goals to put Real Madrid back in front.

In the end, Real Madrid won 2-1 away at Alavés, recording their first victory in three matches and remaining 4 points behind league leaders Barcelona.

Alavés lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation under Kudret, with a starting lineup valued at only 41.2 million euros;Alonso deployed a 4-4-2 formation with Vinícius and Mbappé as the striking pair, Bellingham, Tchouaméni, Guiller, and Rodrigo forming the midfield four, Valdepeñas, Rüdiger, Raúl Asensio, and Valverde in defense, and Courtois in goal, with a starting lineup worth 915 million euros..

Judging by the starting lineup values, the gap between Alavés and Real Madrid was huge, but Alonso’s tactics made the match very challenging. Mbappé’s solo goal put Madrid ahead, only for Alavés to equalize. The one who stepped up to save Alonso was the underused Rodrigo, who ended a 32-match goal drought since the Champions League draw against Manchester City by scoring consecutive goals, including the winner. Rodrigo played the role of the “discarded” player rescuing the young coach, helping Real Madrid narrowly win 2-1 away at Alavés and claim their first victory in three games!

Real Madrid’s starting lineup was worth more than 20 times that of Alavés, yet Madrid’s possession rate (48%) was even lower than that of the lower-tier La Liga side Alavés. Madrid had 13 shots with 6 on target; Alavés had 6 shots with 2 on target. Although Madrid won, Alonso’s tactics were still a mess, and without fundamental changes and improvements, his dismissal seems inevitable.