La Liga: Real Madrid survive fightback to edge Alaves

Madrid, Sep 25 (IANS) Real Madrid suffered a late scare to pocket a 3-2 home win against Alaves in the seventh round of matches in La Liga.A strong Real Madrid starting line-up was having few problems as they led 3-0 against a rival who rested the majority of their regular starters ahead of a trip to play Getafe next weekend.Lucas Vazquez put Madrid ahead inside the first minute after a good pullback from Vinicius Jr, and Kylian Mbappe's fifth goal in five games doubled the lead five minutes before halftime, reports Xinhua.Rodrygo looked to have ended any slight doubts about the final result when he cut inside from the right to score with a low shot three minutes into the second half.

Both sides then hit the post before Carlos Benavidez pulled what looked to be a consolation goal for the visitors in the 85th minute, but when Kike Garcia made it 3-2 a minute later, Madrid suddenly faced a difficult end to the game that saw their rivals go close to an equalizer on a couple of occasions.Chidera Ejuke scored five minutes from time to give Sevilla a vital 2-1 win at home to Valladolid in a game where they paid a big price for their win.The Nigerian striker scored with a shot that went in close to the post to decide the match.Sevilla took the lead in the last minute of the first half in which neither side actually managed a shot on target, after a period of pressure ended with Dodi Lukebakio's shot deflecting into the Valladolid goal off David Torres.Sevilla had dominated the first 45 minutes, with 13 shots to just one of their rivals to highlight both sides' lack of effectiveness in attack.The second half got off to a dreadful start for Sevilla, who lost Saul with what looks to be a serious injury, before Kike Perez equalized for the visitors after great work from Mario Martin.

Sevilla defender Marcao was sent off in the closing moments and will also miss Sunday's trip to play Athletic Bilbao in the San Mames Stadium.Valencia and Osasuna drew 0-0 in Tuesday's other fixture.