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Unhampered by the absence of former Chelsea star Eden Hazard, Real Madrid continued their winning ways with only three games left in La Liga. Hosting bottom-table Deportivo Alaves at the Alfredo di Stefano, Los Blancos saw the game through effortlessly and moved four points ahead of a trailing Barcelona.
Alaves weren't in the mood to backpedal as both sides traded blows from the start of the game. Notably, Luka Modric's 20-yarder went just over the bar, and Raphael Varane was quick to clear the ball off the line after Alaves striker Joselu powered a header at goal.
However, a very controversial penalty call would be the highlight of the first half as Karim Benzema was on hand to score the opening goal of the game from the spot. While opinions will certainly differ, the referee ruled that Ferland Mendy was tackled (and didn't dive under minimal contact), and the tackle happened in the box (rather than outside the box as debated). Benzema's low shot to the left corner was enough to hand Real Madrid the advantage with just 11 minutes on the clock.
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The match continued with a frantic edge as both sides sought goals hungrily. While Real Madrid had the majority of possession, Alaves could care less. The visitors would constantly gain control of the ball, power down the flanks and into the final third with reckless abandon. However, they weren't clinical enough to put the ball in the net.
Finally, after another VAR decision, Real Madrid were awarded their second goal of the game. A lackadaisical Alaves defence misplaced the ball in their own half and were unable to fall back quickly enough to stop a just-onside Benzema from receiving the ball and squaring it for Marco Asensio to finish.
Alaves eventually lost their will to fight back as Real Madrid hounded their defence until the game ended. While Los Blancos are now only two wins away from winning the La Liga title, Alaves remain three points above the relegation zone. It doesn't help their cause that they soon have to play the Blaugrana who are doing all they can to catch up to the Madridistas.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five talking points from the La Liga game:
#1 VAR gets battered once again as a major topic of discussion
The entire point of the Virtual Assistant Referee is to reduce errors in judgement made by the referee. However, in some cases, like tonight, it causes a lot more controversy than usual. As expected, many have gone ahead to claim that VAR is directly "helping" Los Blancos win the league. While that is just talk from rival fans, it isn't easy to totally disregard the penalty decision given in Madrid's behalf on Friday night.
Before that penalty, Alaves looked like they could match Los Blancos chance for chance. However, going one (controversial) goal down seemed to demotivate them and turn the game in Real Madrid's favour. Either way, Ximo Navarro will take the blame for the penalty that gave the hosts an early opener.
#2 Deportivo Alaves were not clinical enough
For a team intent on seeing through the season without getting relegated, Alaves did a sure-fire job of hounding Real Madrid on the counter-attack consistently. However, their tendency to lose possession easily, combined with an inability to keep their shots on target, saw Alaves remain deep in the fight against relegation.
They created notable goalscoring opportunities but failed where it mattered the most, and this might come back to bite them in the coming weeks. To their credit, Alaves had movement, skill and an ability to tear past a strong Real Madrid backline, but they would need to work on their goalscoring on the training ground.
#3 Real Madrid strike lucky yet again
This is only the second time in Real Madrid's last six games that they finished off a game with more than one goal difference. It might not matter much as long as they keep picking up those three points but Zinedine Zidane knows he has a lot of work to do.
They have too often come up short against teams that they would ordinarily walk over. Although they beat teams like Espanyol and Alaves, they fell well short of expectations. The seemingly lucky one-or-two goal margin won't last forever, and Los Blancos need to get back on a fiercer path.
#4 Alaves could have done better in defence
After going down by one goal, Alaves' previously rock-solid backline seemed to crumble apart and struggle to hold onto the ball to pass it out to the midfield. Their poor passing came back to punish them when Real Madrid went on a sudden counter, leading to Asensio's goal. Los Blancos would have scored a lot more chances on a better day.
Coupled with their poor finishing, it doesn't come as a surprise that Alaves lost the game against a Madrid side who took their chances well enough to change the scoreline. Potentially, Alaves can work on their concentration to minimise defensive errors and hopefully see out the next three games with enough juice to stay in La Liga for another season.
#5 Benzema can't stop performing well
Controversial or not, it was Karim Benzema who thrust the ball into the back of the net to give Real Madrid the goal that set the tone of the game. Later in the second half, he was on hand to smartly square the ball for Asensio to score Los Blancos' second.
Since the resumption of La Liga, Benzema has repeatedly brought Real Madrid out of conundrums. In the last seven games, the 32-year-old has contributed to six goals in his bid to propel Los Blancos to the La Liga title. It's become clear that the Frenchman is the glue that holds the Spanish giants together on the field, and they're going to need him to remain in top form if they are to take on the next three games successfully.
