Gareth Bale starts in narrow win; Second-placed Barcelona face Atletico Madrid on Sunday
Saturday 30 November 2019 22:17, UK
Real Madrid moved top of La Liga, until Sunday evening at least, with a 2-1 win at Alaves while Bayern Munich were beaten by Bayer Leverkusen.
Captain Sergio Ramos headed Real in front in the 52nd minute, before then giving away a penalty which saw Lucas Perez equalise (65).
But Zinedine Zidane's side restored their lead four minutes later when Dani Carvajal bundled the ball in from close range and that proved decisive as the visitors moved three points clear of Barcelona, who play at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Real had seen Paris Saint-Germain fight back with two late goals to draw their Champions League match on Tuesday night, but were not expected to be given much concern at the Mendizorrotza Stadium.
Gareth Bale was drafted in for a first start since early October, with Alphonse Areola replacing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Luka Modric also returning to the team. Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard missed out as he nursed an ankle problem.
Bale almost broke the deadlock in the 11th minute after Isco had clipped the ball across from the left. The Wales forward - at the centre of another country-versus-club row during the international break - glanced a header goalwards but watched it bounce back off a post.
Alaves went close through defender Ximo Navarro as driving rain continued but Real Madrid finally broke the deadlock in a low-key affair after 52 minutes. Toni Kroos floated in a deep free-kick, and captain Ramos was left unmarked to glance a header into the bottom corner.
Alaves were sparked into life after going behind. The home fans were twice calling for a penalty, first for a handball by Modric and then what looked a trip by Ramos.
Referee Guillermo Cuadra did point to the spot in the 65th minute after Ramos pushed Joselu in the face with his trailing arm, and was shown a yellow card.
Perez, the former Arsenal and West Ham forward, made no mistake from the penalty but Real were soon back in front after 69 minutes.
Modric floated the ball in from the right and though Isco's header at the back post came back off the woodwork, Carvajal bundled the ball in from close range.
Alaves forced a string of corners during the closing moments, as Perez's point-blank effort was blocked and then a header from Manu Garcia was saved, but the visitors closed out eight minutes of added time - with substitute Federico Valverde dragging a golden late chance wide.
Elsewere, Real Sociedad were 4-1 winners against Eibar, Valencia beat Villarreal 2-1 at the Mestalla while 10-man Real Mallorca were beaten 2-1 by Real Betis.
Leon Bailey scored twice to help Bayer Leverkusen earn a shock 2-1 victory at wasteful Bayern Munich on Saturday for the champions' first defeat under interim coach Hansi Flick.
Bayern, who had won their previous four games in all competitions under Flick, hit the woodwork three times and missed close to a dozen golden chances from top scorer Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry and Ivan Perisic among others.
Leverkusen were left with 10 men after a red card for Jonathan Tah after he brought down Philippe Coutinho in the 82nd minute and survived enormous pressure to hold on to a memorable win.
The visitors drew first blood in the 10th minute with Bailey, back from a two-game suspension, charging clear to latch onto a Kevin Volland pass and score.
It was another scintillating run by the 22-year-old that exposed the Bayern backline once more and put them ahead again, only a minute after Thomas Mueller had drawn the hosts level. It was Mueller's first goal since March after having fallen out of favour with Flick's predecessor Niko Kovac.
Bayern, who had won the previous six games at home against Leverkusen, dropp to fourth place on 24 points, three behind leaders RB Leipzig. Leverkusen moved up to seventh on 22 points.
Jurgen Klinsmann's debut as Hertha Berlin coach ended in defeat as 10-man Borussia Dortmund held on for a 2-1 win in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Early goals from Jadon Sancho and Thorgan Hazard were enough for Dortmund to ease the pressure on coach Lucien Favre with their first win in four games across all competitions.
Hertha fought back with Vladimr Darida scoring in the 34th minute by deflecting Dodi Lukebakios effort from distance, and Dortmund received another blow before the break when Mats Hummels was sent off with his second yellow card for bringing down Davie Selke, who would have been through on goal.
RB Leipzig moved to the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-2 win at Paderborn. The result appeared to be decided early with Patrik Schick and Marcel Sabitzer scoring in the third and fourth minutes.
Timo Werner added another in the 26th, but Streli Mamba and Klaus Gjasula scored in the second half for Paderborn to set up an unexpectedly exciting finale.
Cologne drew 1-1 at home with Augsburg, and Fortuna Dusseldorf also 1-1 at Hoffenheim.
Fiortentina were beaten 1-0 at home by Lecce on Saturday, suffering their third successive defeat.
A diving header from Andrea La Mantia in the 49th minute sealed the victory, with Fiorentina without injured forward Federico Chiesa as well as losing Franck Ribry at half-time following a knock.
Elsewhere, Mario Paalic scored either side of half-time as Atalanta beat Brescoa 3-0 to stay in the Champions League qualifying places.
Mario Paalic was left unmarked to head in Atalanta's opener and scored his second with a slick back-heel flick from close range. Josip Ilicic then scored Atalanta's third by finishing off a counter-attack in added time.
Torino also won at Genoa 1-0 with a second-half header from Gleison Bremer after the hosts hit the woodwork twice.
Depleted by injuries and deprived of a clear game plan, Lyon showed character and clinical efficiency to come from behind and win at Strasbourg 2-1 in the French league on Saturday.
On a cold evening in Alsace, Lyon suffered throughout and converted their few chances. Midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide snatched the winner 15 minutes from time from Maxwell Cornet's assist after the Lyon striker canceled out Youssouf Fofana's opener.
The result, which ended a four-game winning run for Strasbourg at home, lifted Lyon to sixth place, 11 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain.
Juan Ferney Oteros second-half dismissal caused a collapse as Amiens lost 4-2 at Montpellier. Amiens conceded three goals in the space of eight minutes after the Colombian striker was sent off for an ugly foul on Hilton. Montpellier produced their biggest win this season, and extended their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions.
Victor Osimhen scored his eighth goal this season to help Lille recover from its Champions League loss to Ajax in midweek, scoring the winner from the penalty spot to guide his team to a 1-0 win over Dijon.///
Third-placed Angers, the surprise package, lost at Nice 3-1, Nimes were held by Metz to 1-1 and Bordeaux drew at Reims 1-1.
