Rodrygo secured **Real Madrid** a crucial 2-1 victory over **Deportivo Alaves** on Sunday in LaLiga, ending a dismal run of form and keeping them within four points of leaders Barcelona.
Real, under pressure after two straight losses in all competitions, broke the deadlock through Kylian Mbappe's stunning first-half strike.
However, a resilient Alaves levelled in the 68th minute through Carlos Vicente.
The visitors restored their lead eight minutes later, courtesy of a counter-attack led by Vinicius Jr, whose assist was converted by Rodrygo.
The victory keeps Real second in the standings on 39 points, four adrift of Barcelona, while Alaves are 12th on 18 points.
Elsewhere, **Bayern Munich** needed an 87th-minute penalty from forward Harry Kane (above) to rescue a 2-2 home draw against basement side **Mainz 05** in the Bundesliga on Sunday but still managed to extend their lead at the top to nine points.
Goals from Lee Jae-sung and Kacper Potulski had put the visitors in the driving seat after Lennart Karl's first-half opener for the Bavarians, before England captain Kane netted his 18th league goal of the season to save the hosts' blushes and narrowly avoid their second league loss of the season.
Bayern are in top spot on 38 points, with RB Leipzig second on 29 following Friday's 3-1 loss at Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund in third, on goal difference, after their 1-1 draw at Freiburg.
Genoa fans light some smoke-bombs
In Italy, **Inter Milan** moved to the top of Serie A with a 2-1 victory at **Genoa** thanks to first-half goals from Yann Bisseck and Lautaro Martinez.
The result put Inter on 33 points, one ahead of city rivals AC Milan and two ahead of Napoli in third. Genoa are 16th with 14 points.
The match was preceded by unrest outside the stadium as supporters of both teams clashed, with several vehicles set on fire before police restored order.
The incident did not delay kick-off.
Inter came into the match in a strong position after **Milan** were held to a draw against **Sassuolo** and **Napoli** lost at **Udinese** earlier on Sunday.