Rodrygo secured Real Madrid a crucial 2-1 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday in LaLiga, ending a dismal run of form and keeping them within four points of leaders Barcelona.
Real, under pressure after two straight losses in all competitions, broke the deadlock through Kylian Mbappe's stunning first-half strike.
However, a resilient Alaves levelled in the 68th minute through Carlos Vicente. The visitors restored their lead eight minutes later, courtesy of a counter-attack led by Vinicius Jr, whose assist was converted by Rodrygo.
The victory keeps Real second in the standings on 39 points, four adrift of Barcelona, while Alaves are 12th on 18 points.
The narrow triumph in the Basque Country provided manager Xabi Alonso with much-needed breathing space after a run of two wins from their previous eight matches across all competitions.
Sunday's victory demonstrated Real's resilience and ongoing weaknesses. Despite taking a 24th-minute lead through Mbappe's spectacular strike, they found themselves outplayed by an Alaves side roared on by a sold-out Mendizorrotza stadium.
Mbappe had opened the scoring in trademark fashion after Jude Bellingham threaded a long pass to the French forward, who ran down the left channel before cutting inside and unleashing a bullet strike into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Despite Real's early lead, Alaves grew dominant as the first half progressed. The hosts pressured Real's makeshift defence, which featured 19-year-old academy graduate Victor Valdepenas in his senior debut at left back.
Alaves' pressure was eventually rewarded in the 68th minute when substitute Vicente, introduced moments earlier, latched onto Antonio Blanco's long ball and surged past Real's high defensive line to finish into the top corner.
Initially flagged offside, Vicente's goal was awarded after a VAR review confirmed the forward had timed his run perfectly.
Real's winner came as Vinicius wrestled past a defender on the left flank before driving into the penalty area and delivering a low cross, finding Rodrygo, who slid in to steer the ball home from close range.
"It was a tough, very competitive match," Alonso told a press conference.
"We started well and took the lead, but then we lost control and, as a result, we didn't finish well. We had chances in the second half, but we conceded from the only mistake Valdepenas made and Carlos Vicente took advantage of that, after a great pass.
"But the team continued to fight hard, battling it out in a difficult stadium against a very intense opponent. That second goal gave us the three points and we're leaving here very happy."
Inter edge Genoa to go top
Inter Milan moved to the top of Serie A on Sunday with a 2-1 victory at Genoa thanks to first-half goals from Yann Bisseck and Lautaro Martinez.
The result put Inter on 33 points, one ahead of city rivals AC Milan and two ahead of Napoli in third. Genoa are 16th with 14 points.
The match was preceded by unrest outside the stadium as supporters of both teams clashed, with several vehicles set on fire before police restored order. The incident did not delay kickoff.
Inter came into the match in a strong position after Milan were held to a draw against Sassuolo and Napoli lost at Udinese earlier on Sunday.
Inter needed only six minutes to take the lead, as defender Bisseck fired a low effort into the near bottom corner.
Martinez doubled Inter's advantage in the 38th minute, powering his way into the area before driving an angled finish into the net.
Genoa improved in the second half and pulled one back in the 68th minute when Vitinha rounded Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer and rolled the ball in.
Play was briefly halted when yellow smoke filled the stadium after a flare was thrown onto the pitch. After play resumed, Inter held on to seal the win.
"It means a lot. We've taken the top spot because we worked hard and knew how to endure," Martinez told DAZN.
"It's been years that people have talked about Inter because we've been doing well. We are aware of our strength and we want to keep Inter at the top. That's our objective and that's the message in the locker room."
Bayern need late Kane penalty to rescue 2-2 home draw
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich needed an 87th-minute penalty from forward Harry Kane to rescue a 2-2 home draw against basement side Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Sunday but still managed to extend their lead at the top to nine points.
Goals from Lee Jae-sung and Kacper Potulski had put the visitors in the driving seat after Lennart Karl's first-half opener for the Bavarians, before England captain Kane netted his 18th league goal of the season to save the hosts' blushes and narrowly avoid their second league loss of the season.
Bayern are in top spot on 38 points, with RB Leipzig second on 29 following Friday's 3-1 loss at Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund in third, on goal difference, after their 1-1 draw at Freiburg.
They have also reached the 50-goal mark in their 14th Bundesliga match of the season, the fastest in league history.
"We were in complete control for the first 44 minutes and had many chances to score," Kane said. "The sudden equaliser just before halftime changed the momentum."
"We came out of the break dominant again, but lacked the last touch. They then scored a nice goal, and we had to fight back. We've had a lot of games in a short period, but that's no excuse," added the Bundesliga's leading scorer.
"Of course, we wanted to go into the winter break with two wins. A draw at home is disappointing, but we have to accept it and move on."
The Bundesliga will go into its traditional winter break from December 21 to January 9.
It was one-way traffic at the start with Bayern having more than 85% possession in the first 15 minutes.
Mainz did hit the post through Kaishu Sano but the Bavarians then forced a string of superb saves from Mainz goalkeeper Daniel Batz, including stopping Kane's point-blank header and tipping Michael Olise's shot wide.
It looked like only a matter of time until Bayern scored and they did it in the 29th minute with in-form 17-year-old Karl turning a Serge Gnabry cutback in for his third league goal of the season. Karl has now scored four goals in his last five starts for Bayern across all competitions.
Mainz, however, were far from done and they drew level on the stroke of halftime with Potulski's powerful header after the Bayern defence were caught napping.
With the hosts back in control and wasting a double chance through Gnabry and Kane at the start of the second half, Mainz struck against the run of play, with Lee beating keeper Manuel Neuer with his looping header to silence the home crowd.
With time running out Bayern poured forward and Kane was awarded a spotkick when he was brought down in the box. He coolly converted to make it 20 goals from 20 penalties in his Bundesliga career.
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