Spanish club Real Madrid snatched the lead in the league with a goal in stoppage time, causing Deportivo Alavés coach Luis García Plaza to lose his composure and act wildly on the sidelines, reacting angrily towards those on the bench. Lucas Vázquez scored the winning goal with a header during injury time, leading the capital team to a 1-0 victory while playing with ten men after defender Nacho Fernández was sent off in the 54th minute of the match held on Thursday evening.
Vázquez redirected a corner taken by German Toni Kroos with his head into the net from inside the penalty area. With this victory, Real Madrid climbed to the top of the league on goal difference over Girona, both teams now having 45 points, as Girona dropped the lead after a 1-1 draw against Real Betis. FC Barcelona is in third place with 38 points.
Cameras captured García's furious reaction after his team's loss, as he continued to shout and kick things around him, then grabbed someone from the bench nervously before tearing off his jacket and throwing it. In the post-match press conference, the coach stated, "We didn’t attack well against 10 players... but we also didn’t face much offensive suffering, and what angered me was the goal."
On the other hand, the coach of the Spanish giants, Carlo Ancelotti, commented, "It was a tough match with numerical inferiority... Everyone thought we would stumble today. But we held up well with ten players, defended well, and in the end, our efforts were rewarded."
