Real Madrid show no signs of letting up and cemented their place at the top of the table with a strong comeback to beat a solid Mallorca side. The visitors went ahead in the first half but Valverde's wonder goal in injury time returned the balance before the teams went to the dressing rooms. In the second half the comeback was completed by the beautiful efforts of Vini Jr., Rodrygo and Rudiger who scored his first goal with the white shirt. After clinching all of the three points vs Mallorca, Ancelotti’s men continue their victorious streak having won all of their seven competitive games so far this season.
Madrid showed up with two important absences like Karim Benzema and Eder Militao. The game was mostly dominated by Real Madrid, but the squad failed to render it less complicated for themselves by letting the opponent become dangerous in a few occasions. The guests were unable to cope with Real Madrid’s pace and control but they were always ready to strike with every opportunity no matter how small it was.
One of the best opportunities to make use of in these cases are the set pieces and Majorcans were prepared for that. In the first chance Madrid failed to cover properly they hit. The best thing Real Madrid did was equalizing quickly before the first half ended, otherwise the game could had become more closed and tough, seriously threatening the final goal to take all of the three points. Besides that, the coach’s clinical interventions with the substitutions gave once again their rewards.
Real Madrid looked as the better team from the off, the first chance falling their way when Ceballos forced Rajkoviç into a fine save with his curling effort from the edge of the box after just 5 minutes. As time wore on, the hosts' possession failed to yield any real goalscoring opportunities. A Kroos long ball was cushioned by Valverde into the path of Rodrygo, but the Brazilian's left-footed shot ended up in the gloves of the visiting goalkeeper.
Mallorca had barely carved out a single chance on Courtois' goal when they took the lead with a free-kick. Kang In Lee swung it in on 36 minutes and Muriqi's header ended up in the back of the net. The goal spurred the reigning LaLiga champions on and indeed they were level again before the half-time whistle. As the clock ticked over into injury time, Valverde picked up the ball in his own half, carried it an incredible 52 metres, weaving his way through opposition defenders with ease, before unleashing a spectacular left-footed drive from the edge of the box which arrowed into the top corner.
The script remained the same following the restart, with Mallorca camped deep inside their own half allowing our team to come onto them as they searched for the goal that would give them the lead. In the hour mark Ancelotti decided to make some tactical changes, having Modric, Nacho and Camavinga replace Hazard, Mendy and Ceballos for more ideas and energy, changing as well the configuration of the existing players on the pitch with Rodrygo moving nearer to the center of the attack. A series of long shots saw Lucas Vázquez come within inches on 61’, before Mallorca responded three minutes on when Grenier's superb individual play found Antonio Sánchez, who failed to find the target from inside the six-yard box.
On the 71st minute Vasquez had to leave his place to Carvajal due to injury but the team’s struggle would come to an end very soon. The reward the hosts deserved did finally arrive with 73 minutes gone, as Rodrygo moved brilliantly to evade the attentions of two opposition defenders before laying the ball to Vini Jr. inside the box. His compatriot did the rest, carving out a yard of space with a lovely touch, before finishing beautifully with his left. It's the Brazilian's fifth straight game with a goal.
The closing stages saw time for two further goals, the first, by Rodrygo with 89 on the clock, was special. He received the ball miles out, dribbled past three defenders and beat Rajkoviç with a shot across goal. In time added-on, the team's German duo came to the fore to put the icing on the cake, Kroos whipping in a free-kick where Rüdiger was waiting at the back post to net his first madridista goal. The German was in the offside line and the referee had to check for the goal’s validity, but at the end everything was confirmed and the teammates congratulated him for his first goal with the white shirt!
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