We are into the final 60 seconds of the match and Alaves are still unable to take the ball off their opponents.
90' +4
Brahim Díaz enters the game and replaces Casemiro.
The ball takes an age to go out of play. Once it does, Diaz is finally introduced for Casemiro for around two minutes of action.
90' +3
The home side are teasing their opponents now, knocking it around pretty much uncontested. It has turned out to be a fairly routine victory for Madrid in the end.
90' +1
DECENT ATTEMPT! Courtois gets his whole body behind Rodriguez's long-range shot. Lowly Alaves are not giving up here.
90'
Madrid are going through the motions now as we enter six minutes of added time in the Spanish capital. Zidane appears to be readying Diaz to come on.
88'
Benzema is clutching his right hamstring in the stands, suggesting that he is carrying a knock. That is not a good sign for Zidane on what has otherwise been another positive day for his side.
87'
Hazard is fouled out on the right-hand side. Kroos whips in a free-kick and Laguardia makes sure that it is his head that gets to it first. Militao went down in the box but the contact from Laguardia was minimal to say the least.
85'
PUSHED AWAY! Isco only has one thought in his mind when he shifts the ball onto his right foot. From the edge of the box, the substitute curls a shot on target for Jimenez to deal with - and deal with it the Alaves keeper does.
83'
A. Mahmoud gets yellow.
Mahmoud becomes the first player to be shown a yellow card today following a foul on Kroos, who was looking to charge through.
Minute
Description
82'
Isco enters the game and replaces Rodrygo.
E. Hazard enters the game and replaces K. Benzema.
Isco is introduced late on. Rodrygo is the player to make way.
Hazard is given 10 minutes or so to test his ankle. Benzema departs and passes on the captain's armband to Varane.
81'
Rodriguez stands on Casemiro's heel and is perhaps fortunate to avoid a booking. Casemiro is in a little pain but should be okay to play on - he certainly did not twist his ankle.
79'
We are back under way following the second cooling break of the match. With a little over 10 minutes to go at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Madrid still have some work to do to see out the win.
75'
BLOCKED! Alaves offer another reminder that they are still very much in this game. Sainz carries the ball forward and gets a shot away that hits Varane and goes behind.
73'
Kroos slides the ball to his right. Vinicius is there but leaves the ball behind when racing through - his feet were too quick for his brain, clearly!
72'
Zidane is holding off from bringing on Hazard for the time being. Madrid are looking pretty comfortable, but it will only take one Alaves goal to change all that.
70'
F. Valverde enters the game and replaces L. Modrić.
Vinícius Júnior enters the game and replaces Marco Asensio.
Make that a double change for Madrid - Asensio makes way for Vinicius up top.
Zidane turns to his bench for the first time today, with Valverde on and Modric off in a like-for-like change.
69'
J. Rodríguez enters the game and replaces Joselu.
Joselu is replaced with a little over 20 minutes left, likely with the next match in mind. Rodriguez is brought on in his place.
68'
Borja Sainz enters the game and replaces Édgar Méndez.
Mendez, who has had some promising moments today, makes way for Sainz.
67'
Ely is in the right place to cut out Asensio's cross. It has been an entertaining second half so far as Alaves prepare to make another change or two.
64'
CLOSE! Yet another save from Courtois, this time to keep out Mendez's shot. Up the other end, Vazquez horribly miscues a volley when set up by Benzema.
58'
Jimenez claws a cross away before Benzema can pounce at the back post. Madrid look far more comfortable since going two goals ahead.
57'
It looks as though Alaves have changed shape slightly, towards more of a 5-4-1 spearheaded by Joselu. Perez going off suggests that Muniz is already looking towards the next game.
55'
Luis Rioja enters the game and replaces Lucas Pérez.
A. Mahmoud enters the game and replaces L. Fejsa.
Perez is replaced by Rioja as the visitors make a double change.
Abdallahi is on for Fejsa in the second of those changes.
54'
Burke clashes heads with Vazquez and seems a little dazed. Alaves are about to make a double substitution.
52'
That was far too easy for Madrid. Alaves deserved to be at least on level terms at half-time but have struggled to maintain those levels from the first half since the restart. The visitors now have a big mountain to climb.
50'
Marco Asensio has scored a goal for Real Madrid! Assist by K. Benzema.
Benzema looked offside and the Alaves players felt so to. The replays do not lie, though - he was marginally on and did well to continue playing, before laying it on a plate for Asensio.
GOOOAALLL!!! MADRID 2-0 ALAVES!! Rodrygo plays the ball through for Benzema, who appears to be offside. He continues running anyway and squares for Asensio to slot it in. It goes to VAR and the replay shows that Benzema was indeed onside. The goal stands!
48'
Burke was Alaves' liveliest player in the first half and has been involved early in the second period. He tries to get between two players down the left but Vazquez takes the ball from his feet.
47'
There has been one change at the interval, in fact - referee Jesus Gil Manzano injured his ankle in the first half and is unable to continue. Rodriguez Caraballo is his replacement.
46'
RESTART! Alaves get us back under way in the Spanish capital. Benzema hurt his neck late in the first half but Zidane has not made any changes at the interval, nor has opposite number Muniz.
45' +6
HALF-TIME: REAL MADRID 1-0 DEPORTIVO ALAVES
45' +5
SHOT! Benzema gets a shot away after being played in by Rodrygo, but it lacks any real power and Jimenez gets behind it. The Madrid striker lands awkwardly - that is one to monitor at half-time.
45' +4
Madrid have been in complete control over the last 10 minutes or so, albeit without creating anything of note. Alaves have a chance to break but Camarasa gives it straight to an opposition player.
45' +2
Modric is fouled towards the right and Madrid have a free-kick in a promising position. Asensio curls it in and the first defender clears away.
45' +1
Five minutes have been added on at the end of the first half, owing to the earlier injury to the referee.
45'
Madrid look as though they are ready for half-time. The same is probably true for Alaves, who will feel they deserve at least one goal on the basis of the opening 45 minutes.
43'
Vazquez offers Asensio an option on the overlap and is slipped in, only to horribly overhit the cross straight out of play. Before that, Rodrygo went down in the box but there was not enough contact to warrant a penalty.
41'
Zidane's side are staying very patient in their pursuit of a second goal. More than anything, this is surely a ploy to take the sting out of the game.
40'
Madrid have spent the past couple of minutes taking back control of the game. Alaves really should be level, so the home team will use those earlier near misses as a wake-up call.
38'
The finishing touch has let Alaves down in this first half, otherwise they could be a couple of goals ahead - never mind one goal behind!
35'
Casemiro angles a cross towards the back post, where Ely is waiting to meet it. Burke is given something to chase down towards the left but the pass has too much on it and rolls out of play.
33'
Rodrygo charges past a couple of players before running into a brick wall. Mendez and Burke have swapped flanks for Alaves, with the latter now up against makeshift right-back Vazquez.
31'
Alaves have had three shots on target to Madrid's one. The visitors have looked very lively when they get the ball forward and will perhaps feel they deserve to be on level terms. We are back under way at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, with the referee bandaged up.
29'
The referee has cooled for a cooling break so that he can receive further treatment to his ankle. It looks as though we will have a change of official before play resumes.
27'
There is a short stoppage in play for the referee Jesus Gil Manzano to receive some treatment. He collided with Perez and appears to have hurt his ankle but should be okay to continue.
23'
Martín Aguirregabiria enters the game and replaces Ximo Navarro.
Navarro, guilty of giving away the penalty for Madrid's opener, is unable to shake off the knock and is replaced by Aguirregabiria.
20'
Militao gets in front of Ely to make a good defensive clearance inside his own box. Alaves are enjoying the odd promising spell and look particularly threatening when getting crosses into the middle.
16'
OVER! Perez's left-sided delivery is pretty decent and Joselu should be doing better. He gets under the ball and heads it off target.
15'
Madrid survived an early scare and have been pretty dominant since then. Militao gives away a free-kick with a challenge on Joselu, though, and Alaves have a chance to swing the ball into the box.
13'
SHOT! Kroos takes one touch to set himself 19 yards from goal and gets away a decent shot from the second touch. Jimenez tries and fails to get a fingertip to it but the ball ends inches over the crossbar anyway.
11'
Penalty goal scored by K. Benzema for Real Madrid!
GOOOOAAAALLL!!! MADRID 1-0 ALAVES!! Benzema tucks the ball towards the bottom-left corner and Jimenez dives the opposite way. Regular taker Ramos may be in the stands, but that was a good penalty from the Frenchman.
10'
Perez does well to get in front of Militao but the Madrid centre-back makes a last-ditch challenge to clear the ball before the Alaves striker can shoot.
9'
Benzema has space at the back post to bring the ball under control. He tries to cross but it hits Navarro and goes behind.
6'
It has been a lively start in the Spanish capital, to say the least! Modric wasted a half-chance at one end but Alaves really should be in front, having hit the crossbar and had a shot saved on the line.
2'
The hosts have made a positive start to the match. Jimenez parries Mendy's cutback and Vazquez plays the loose ball it into the path of Modric, who blazes a shot off target.
1'
KICK-OFF! Madrid, looking to restore a four-point lead at the top of LaLiga, get us under way against Alaves. Can the visitors pull off a big upset under a new regime?
Hello and welcome to our live text coverage of the LaLiga clash between Real Madrid and Deportivo Alaves at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
Madrid have won seven league matches in a row since returning to action last month and are a point clear of Barcelona at the summit with this game in hand to play. Zinedine Zidane's men also boast a superior head-to-head record against Barca and can move another step closer to a first title since 2017 with victory here.
In complete contrast to their opponents, Alaves have lost five games in a row and have failed to score in four of those. Juan Muniz's side are three points above the relegation zone ahead of this game in hand on 18th-placed Real Mallorca, though they also still have Barcelona to play.
Subs: Brahim Diaz, Alphonse Areola, Mariano, Miguel Gutierrez, Javi Hernandez, Vinicius Junior, Diego Altube, Gareth Bale, Isco, Eden Hazard, Federico Valverde.
MADRID XI (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, Raphael Varane, Ferland Mendy; Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric; Rodrygo, Karim Benzema (c), Marco Asensio.
ALAVES XI (4-4-2): Roberto Jimenez; Ximo Navarro, Víctor Laguardia (c), Rodrigo Ely, Adrian Marin; Oliver Burke, Victor Camarasa, Ljubomir Fejsa, Edgar Mendez; Lucas Perez, Joselu.
Subs: Paulino de la Fuente, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Rafa Navarro, Luis Rioja, Martin Aguirregabiria, Tomas Pina, Manu Garcia, Pere Pons, Abdallahi Mahmoud, Aritz Castro, Lisandro Magallan, Borja Sainz.
The teams are coming out onto the pitch at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano and kick-off is just moments away. This match will be played behind closed doors, as will every other LaLiga game for the foreseeable future.
Zidane will not be entirely happy with his side's first-half display, even if they do have a one-goal lead at the midway point. Madrid have plenty of attacking options on the bench should they wish to use them, with the likes of Bale, Benzema, Mariano, Diaz, Vinicius and Isco all waiting in reserve.
That is now eight wins in a row for Zidane's men, the last five of those without conceding. Next up for the league leaders is a trip to Granada on Monday, the same day that Alaves - three points above the relegation zone with three games to go - play host to high-flying Getafe.
That's all for today's live coverage. Thanks for joining, goodbye!
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