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Real Madrid v Las Palmas – LIVE from 4.15pm

Real Madrid win against Las Palmas - David Alaba celebrates his comeback after 399 days.(Bild: APA/AFP/JAVIER SORIANO, Screenshot DAZN)

Real Madrid celebrated a commanding 4:1 victory over UD Las Palmas on matchday 20 in La Liga. The big highlight of the game, however, was the comeback of Austrian captain David Alaba in the second half! 

Just over 13 months after tearing his cruciate ligament, Austria's soccer team captain David Alaba celebrated his comeback on Sunday. The 32-year-old was substituted for Antonio Rüdiger in the 76th minute of Real Madrid's 4:1 home league win over Las Palmas to frenzied cheers from the crowd. The ÖFB star had torn the cruciate ligament in his left knee in a Spanish LaLiga match against Villarreal on December 17, 2023.

While he was still hoping to take part in the European Championships at the time, his rehab turned out to be difficult and protracted - a place at the tournament in the summer of 2024 remained an illusion. Nevertheless, Alaba traveled to Germany as "non-playing captain", took part in coaches' meetings in this role and was close to the players. However, his damaged knee only improved slowly. At the time, neither Real nor Alaba wanted to set a date for his return.

Wild speculation on the way back
On September 30, the Viennese returned to running training, and a month later he was back with the ball. In between, there was wild speculation about a premature end to the season and even the threat of a retirement. Alaba, on the other hand, was said to be making progress. Shortly after New Year's Eve, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti finally held out the prospect of Alaba's return in January.

David Alaba is back(Bild: AFP/APA/JAVIER SORIANO)

Alaba has now made his competitive comeback after 399 days out of action. He had previously been in the squad for the two Super Cup ties at the beginning of January, but did not feature. Before the clash with Las Palmas, Ancelotti had held out the prospect of his defensive boss making an appearance. The game did not get off to a promising start, with the visitors taking the lead through Fabio Silva after 26 seconds. Otherwise, there was nothing to see from them offensively. The "royals" recovered quickly, played virtually to a goal and scored an unchallenged victory.

Compulsory win against Las Palmas
Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty after a foul on Rodrygo (18') and scored with a direct shot into the corner (36'). They were the Frenchman's 11th and 12th league goals in his 18th game, taking his tally to 17 after 29 competitive matches. Brahim Diaz (33) and Rodrygo (57) also got on the scoresheet. Further goals were in the air or even scored, but three were disallowed for offside after a VAR review. Alaba did not have to show his defensive qualities in his brief appearance, as the visitors, who had never won at Real, were too harmless from the 64th minute onwards.

With their third league win in a row after the 20th round, Ancelotti's side (46 points) took over the lead in the table from city rivals Atletico (44), who lost 1-0 at Leganes on Saturday. Third-placed FC Barcelona are already seven points behind. Alaba's comeback came at the dress rehearsal for a match against an Austrian team. Next Wednesday, Red Bull Salzburg will visit the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in the penultimate round of the Champions League.