Vitoria (Spain) (AFP) - Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe was sent off for an ugly lunge but his side still beat Alaves 1-0 on Sunday to stay four points behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

Mbappe’s dismissal put his team-mates under pressure but Alaves were also reduced to 10 players in the second half when Manu Sanchez hacked down Vinicius Junior.

Eduardo Camavinga’s first-half curling effort from the edge of the box was enough to split the teams as Madrid produced a gritty display to match Barcelona’s single-goal victory over Leganes on Saturday.

“It was a hard game, tricky at first because of how intense our opponents were, and then after Kylian’s red card the team pulled together,” Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos told his club’s television channel.

Assistant coach Davide Ancelotti took the place of his father Carlo Ancelotti, who was suspended, in the Madrid dug-out.

“The win gives us confidence, we knew it wouldn’t be easy and what happened in the game didn’t make it easy,” said Davide Ancelotti after the match.

“I haven’t spoken with (Mbappe) after the game, he’s not a violent guy and he said sorry, he realised the error he made, it’s clearly a red card and he paid the price.

“I’m not justifying it, but it happened after he was fouled several times in a row.”

Los Blancos began with Vinicius on the bench, with the Brazilian’s inconsistent form and the upcoming Champions League battle against Arsenal in mind.

Carlo Ancelotti had called for his team to defend better after conceding 11 goals in the last four games, including the painful 3-0 quarter-final first-leg defeat to the Gunners on Tuesday.

That call may have fed into Mbappe’s wild foul on Antonio Blanco which caused the striker’s dismissal.

By then Madrid had taken the lead in a hotly-contested clash at Alaves’ Mendizorroza stadium.

The visitors appealed for a penalty early on when Arda Guler and goalkeeper Jesus Owono collided.

Raul Asencio’s header hit Joan Jordan and bounced in but the goal was ruled out for an Antonio Rudiger foul on Owono.

Eventually, Camavinga curled home from the edge of the box after being teed up by Fede Valverde to send the Spanish champions ahead on 34 minutes.

Mbappe’s red card four minutes later was a set-back for Madrid, who came under pressure in the second half.

- ‘Together we are stronger’ -

Los Blancos fought off the hosts and brought on Vinicius and Jude Bellingham, who had also been given a rest.

Alaves were reduced to 10 men when Vinicius broke loose and Sanchez hacked him down with a poor challenge, which might have merited a red card even if the defender was not the last man.

That made life easier for Madrid in the final stages and they came closer to scoring a second than Alaves did to an equaliser.

Valverde whistled a long-range effort inches wide of the top corner, while Madrid were also able to bring on midfielder Ceballos for a few minutes as he returns from injury.

The clean sheet will be a morale boost for Los Blancos, who can turn their attention to Arsenal’s visit to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

“The only chance that we have is (knowing that) together we are stronger,” added Ceballos.

“Thanks to the fans for their continuous support, we need you more than ever.”

Defeat left Alaves 17th, one point above the relegation zone.

Later Sunday, Athletic Bilbao came from behind to beat Rayo Vallecano 3-1, further tightening their grip on fourth place.

Villarreal, fifth, also made a comeback to edge sixth-placed Real Betis 2-1, with Ayoze Perez scoring the winner against his former side.

The Yellow Submarine are three points clear of Betis with a game in hand, with fifth place potentially a Champions League qualification spot depending on Spanish teams’ performance in European competition this season.