Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid are 1-0 behind at half time in their La Liga clash with Alaves, after Lucas Perez put the visitors in front with a first half penalty.
Los Blancos are without a league win since the end of October, and their quest to turn their domestic fortunes around hit a major stumbling block as Nacho Fernandez conceded a spot kick after just four minutes.
The Spanish international was penalised by VAR for a handball inside the box, and Perez kept his cool to slot a superb effort past Thibaut Courtois.
An early penalty for Alaves leads to an early goal for Lucas Perez! 😱
Nacho penalised for a hand ball from the corner 🖐 pic.twitter.com/3wXBS2MBXW
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) November 28, 2020
Alaves Gooal 0-1#RealMadridAlaves #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/lpmSHK3AWZ
— Football Goals (@Footballgoal20) November 28, 2020
The hosts did look to react to that setback, as Mariano Diaz forced a smart stop from Fernando Pacheco, before Perez missed an excellent chance to make it 2-0.
The former Arsenal man was released in behind the home defence, but Courtois stayed big to make a crucial stop for Real Madrid.
HUGE SAVE from @thibautcourtois to deny a second goal for Lucas Perez! 📛
📺 https://t.co/mRLGD2fqy2#RealMadridAlaves pic.twitter.com/d33y9Pv8eC
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) November 28, 2020
Zidane’s second half task has been made even harder by an injury to star man Eden Hazard, after the Belgian international was forced off on 28 minutes with a hamstring problem.
Image via Alaves CF on Twitter
