I don't even know why I did that.

Real Madrid won 1-0 against Deportivo Alavés in the 31st round of the 2024-25 La Liga away match held at Camp de Football de Mendizorrotza located in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, on the 13th. It was a tough match, and Real laughed through the chaos, redeeming themselves after the loss to Valencia.

On that day, Real took the lead with a header goal from 2003-born club youth defender Raúl Asensio during a corner kick situation in the 19th minute of the first half. However, the goal was canceled after a video assistant referee (VAR) review determined that Real center back Antonio Rüdiger had pushed Alavés goalkeeper Jesús Bounou before Asensio's header shot.

The aggressive Real broke through the opponent's defense with a pass from Federico Valverde, and Eduardo Camavinga scored the first goal with a bold left-footed long-range shot in the 34th minute of the first half. Just when it seemed they were escaping the shock of the loss to Valencia, something shocking happened.

That was the ejection of Kylian Mbappé, who is practically the ace of Real this season. In the 38th minute of the first half, he committed a reckless tackle against opposing player Antonio Blanco while pressing forward. Even though it was not a situation where he needed to directly stop the attack, he madly kicked the opponent's right shin with his studs.

Immediately, VAR was activated, and after an on-field review, the referee issued a red card to Mbappé, leading to his expulsion. Despite being put under pressure due to the numerical disadvantage, Real managed to equalize when Alavés's Manu Sánchez was also sent off with a red card in the 25th minute of the second half, finishing the match at 10 versus 10.

Despite the victory, the expulsion of Mbappé poses difficulties for Real in managing the league. With only seven matches left until the end of the season, Real is chasing Barcelona (70 points) with 66 points (20 wins, 6 draws, 5 losses). In the midst of this, the ace has been sent off due to a reckless tackle.

Due to the red card expulsion, Mbappé is subject to an immediate one-match suspension, and depending on the referee's report, this suspension period may be extended. If it is extended by three more matches, he will miss the cup final against Barcelona, effectively missing all the key matches of the season.

Mbappé is reported to have politely apologized to Blanco after the game. He stated that his tackle and actions went too far and went to the opponent's locker room to sincerely apologize. The victim, Blanco, is also known to have accepted the apology, saying, "Honestly, it was a really bad tackle. But after the game, Mbappé came to apologize," and added, "So it's not a big problem. Honestly, these things can happen in football."

[OSEN]