La Liga
Real Madrid Beats Mallorca To Close In On La Liga Title
Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory against RCD Mallorca at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix.
The win marked their second 1-0 victory over the Copa del Rey finalists this season and further solidified their position at the top of the La Liga table as they continue their pursuit of the league title.
Despite dominating territory, Real Madrid appeared disjointed in their attacking play, with the game’s first shot on target coming only after half an hour when Dani Rodríguez’s corner was headed towards goal by Antonio Raillo, only to be saved by Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. The wake-up call for Los Blancos came shortly after as Aurelien Tchouameni set up Jude Bellingham, whose curling effort struck the crossbar.
It was Tchouameni who broke the deadlock early in the second half with a stunning strike from 30 yards out, which took a deflection off Antonio Sanchez before finding the top corner of the net. Real Madrid came close to doubling their lead on multiple occasions, with Brahim Diaz and Vinícius Junior both testing Mallorca’s goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
The home side, led by Javier Aguirre, pushed for an equalizer late in the game, with Sergi Darder’s powerful half-volley from long range requiring a top-class save from Lunin to preserve Real Madrid’s lead. Mallorca’s efforts fell short, extending their streak of matches with one goal or fewer, while Real Madrid clinched all three points in a challenging away fixture.
Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to make six changes to the starting lineup showed Real Madrid’s focus on managing their squad during a congested fixture schedule, balancing their aspirations in both domestic and European competitions. The victory against Mallorca showed the team’s resilience and ability to grind out results even when not at their fluent best, a hallmark of championship-winning teams.
Mallorca was unable to score a late equalizer, extending their streak to five consecutive league matches with one goal or less. Real claimed the three points at San Moix, a feat that Barcelona and Girona have not achieved this season.
