Here's how it happened:
Alaves 1-4 Real Madrid: second halfPeeep! That's full time!
Min 92 | That's Cristiano's first treble for Madrid since demolishing Wolfsburg in April, and his 38th in total in Spanish football.
Min 90 | Three minutes added on. Christian Santos came on for Torres a few minutes ago, I neglected to mention.
Min 87 | Goooooal! Real make it four! Cristiano exchanges passes with Marcelo in the box and wallops it past Pacheco from by the penalty spot for his hat-trick. Ever so slightly flattering, that scoreline.
Min 86 | Bale trots off for a rest and Lucas Vázquez skips on.
Min 84 | Gooooooal! 3-1 to Real Madrid! Marcelo pings a route-one ball over the top for Morata o run onto, with Alexis giving furious but futile chase - and the striker doesn't even bother taking a touch before dinking a delightful lobbed finish over Pacheco. Wonderful finish! "Madre mía!" shouts AS's Tomás Roncero over the other side of the newsroom. Well quite, Thomas.
Min 81 | It's possibly not the best time for this, I admit. But anyway, here goes: Cristiano's goals this afternoon mean he's scored against all 31 teams he's faced in the top flight. The full story on that is here.
Min 80 | Kiko Femenía is into the book for giving the referee a little bit too much lip after a Danilo challenge on Krsticic.
Min 79 | Pacheco saves Cristiano's spot-kick! The former Real Madrid man guesses right and palms out the Portuguese's effort, which wasn't as far into the corner as he'd have liked.
Min 78 | Penalty to Real Madrid! Kroos swings over the corner and Daniel Torres is all over Cristiano! That certainly seems a clearer pen than the other one.
Min 76 | The ref clealry gives a throw-in the wrong way, awarding it to Real. Pellegrino is incandescent - and is sent to the stands! "Why?!" he can be seen mouthing.
Min 74 | He looks to be OK. 15 minutes to go, and it it stays this way it'll be five wins in a row in all competitions for Real, and six on the trot against Alaves.
Min 72 | Navas has to be quick to nip out and steal the ball from the on-rushing Deyverson's toes - but the Brazilian is flagged offside. Keylor has taken a knock for his troubles, and is in need of treatment.
Min 69 | Cristiano has clearly been watching too much of his pal Nacho in action. Kovacic crosses to the far post, where CR7 launches himself into a scissor-kick that is high wide and handsome.
Min 66 | It is indeed Benzema who is replaced by Morata, while Alaves introduce Katai for Edgar.
Min 65 | Varane plays an inch-perfect pass into the box to no-one in particular, while Morata takes a last swig of water and prepares to come on. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Karim Benzema is the chief candidate to be hooked.
Min 64 | Alaves are preparing a second sub, with Aleksandar Katai in line to be thrust into the action.
Min 62 | First change for Alaves as Krsticic comes on for Manu García.
Min 60 | Bale is the first Real Madrid player to see yellow after an ever so slightly wild lunge on Femenía. He makes furious I-got-the-ball motions with his hands, but he's fooling no-one. It's a promising position for Alaves to get it into the proverbial mixer, but Camarasa's delivery is disappointing, failing to clear the first man.
Min 59 | Álvaro Morata, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vázquez are all gamely warming up over on the touchline, while Nenad Krsticic is set to come on for Alaves.
Min 57 | Now Bale has a dig, but it's over.
Min 56 | There's a shooting opportunity for Cristiano as Kovacic wins it back high up the pitch and feeds the forward, who drifts in from the left channel and bends it wide of Pacheco's far post.
Min 54 | Close again from Alaves! Deyverson cuts inside Varane and aims a low, left-footed effort at Navas' near post, but 'the Cat' is down low and holds on.
Min 53 | Theo becomes the third Alaves man to go into the book for handling as he went down to challenge Danilo. Moments later, Kovacic fancies a crack from the edge of the box, but pumps it high.
Min 47 | There were no changes at half time, by the way.
Min 46 | What a chance for Alaves! They should be level in the opening seconds of the half! Deyverson plays it across to Camarasa, who's arriving ten yards or so outside of the box. He absolutely does Varane, poking it past the Frenchman and finding himself one on one with Navas - but the Costa Rican saves!Peeep! The second half is underway.Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid: half-time summaryReal Madrid go in ahead, having recovered from Deyverson's opener with a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo, who'll be feeling much better about himself now. Other than their horrendously ropey defending on the home team's goal - that's now nine straight games without a clean sheet for Real - the chief blackspot from the 45 for Zinedine Zidane's men is that injury to Pepe. After Sevilla's draw at Sporting Gijón earlier today, a win will see Madrid go provisionally three points clear at the top of LaLiga, with the rest of the chasing pack still to play.Over in the Alaves dressing room, one suspects Mauricio Pellegrino is busy telling his players to get the ball to Theo Hernández as fast as they bleedin' can. The youngster terrorised the Real backline for much of that first half.Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid: first halfPeeep! That's half time in Vitoria.
Min 45 | One minute of added time. Bale has the chance to square it for Cristiano in the box, but it's blocked; the Wales man picks it up again, finds a yard of space on the edge of the area...and curls it well off target.
Min 43 | Ronaldo's brace has taken his form of two in seven to the altogether healthier-looking (if still not quite on a par with his usual, Championship Manager-esque figures) four in eight. Although if you factor in international appearances, he came into today on seven in seven and has just moved to nine in eight. Stats, eh.
Min 40 | Daniel Torres gets a yellow card for a hand-off on Isco that Paul Gascoigne would have been proud of. Up the other end, Cristiano is now brimming with confidence and tries his luck from range - unsuccessfully so, though.
Min 37 | Feddal rises highest for Alaves to head a corner from the right towards goal...but it's well wide.
Min 36 | That's Ronaldo's first double of the season and takes him to four LaLiga goals.
Min 34 | Gooooal to Real Madrid! Cristiano gets his second and Los Blancos have turned it around! He picks it up in the right channel outside of the box, gets it out of his feet, and - via a fairly juicy deflection off Feddal's foot - beats Pacheco and finds the far corner!
Min 31 | The man given his marching orders by the fellow in black (well, pinkish red) was one of Pellegrino's assistants, our colleagues on Spanish TV tell us.
Min 30 | Deyverson is the first player this season to have scored against both Real Madrid and Barcelona, notes the ever-insightful OptaJose .
Min 29 | Theo again wreaks unbridled havoc on the left, and earns Alaves a corner - but Alexis can't quite get on the end of it.
Min 28 | Ufff! Marcelo fires it low into the box from the byline, but a blue and white shirt gets there first to clear at the near post. Alaves then break forward with menace down the right, but Varane beats Camarasa to Edgar's cross.
Min 25 | I've looked at a couple of replays of that penalty decision, and I confess I ain't sure what to say. It seems to strike Deyverson's head and a bit of elbow, so I guess by the letter of the law it's a pen. But that's seeing it for the third or fourth time in slow motion; watching it in real time, the contact with his arm is barely discernible.
Min 22 | Nacho Fernández is preparing to come on, and it's Pepe who's the man with the problem. On trots Real's Hugo Sánchez impersonator.
Min 20 | Now Alaves are asking for a penalty, but this time the ref says nope. Theo - who has had Danilo on toast so far - bursts past the Brazilian on the left, he sticks his foot, Theo falls...but it's only a corner - which is headed over. Meanwhile, someone on the Alaves bench - I didn't quite see who - is told to do one to the stands for his protests.Min 17 | Cristiano strides up to it, and sends Pacheco the wrong way! 1-1 at Mendizorroza!
Min 16 | Real win a free-kick just to the right of centre, and Bale is standing over it. He runs up, it hits the wall...and the referee has given a penalty! Handball against Deyverson! And a yellow card for his troubles! The Alaves players are absolutely fuming.
Min 15 | Bale almost found the head of Cristiano with one of his Delap/Challiner-esque long throws there, but the Portuguese couldn't quite get on the end of it.
Min 13 | Theo is causing Madrid all kinds of trouble down the left. He whips in another cross with his left for the head of Edgar Méndez - but he nods across the face of Navas' goal and wide.Min 12 | Bale has the ball in the net...but it won't count! Isco fed the run of the Welshman, who cut inside and fired in low past Fernando Pacheco, but he was offside when he received the pass.Min 9 | Theo immediately gets another crossing chance, but sends it long and high.
Min 7 | Goooooal! Alaves take the lead! The hosts hit Real with a lighting break! Camarasa feeds Theo Hernández motoring forward on the left, and the on-loan Atlético man pins a low cross into the middle. Keylor Navas and Raphael Varane make an almight hash of it, leaving the ball to fall for Deyverson waiting at the back post, and the Brazilian takes a touch before driving into the unguarded net! Well, well, well.
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