Real Madrid 4-1 RCD Mallorca: Match Review | OneFootball

Real Madrid hosted RCD Mallorca at Santiago Bernabeu on Matchday 5 of La Liga. Carlo Ancelotti’s men had not dropped points so far this season and looked to keep their streak running against the thirteenth-placed side.

Eder Militao and Karim Benzema were unavailable on the day and were replaced by Antonio Rudiger and Eden Hazard respectively. Additionally, there were changes in midfield as Dani Ceballos and Federico Valverde received starts.

Mallorca started strong on the afternoon, very similar to how Celtic pushed against Los Blancos early in the game midweek. The visitors had two chances in the opening five minutes but Vedat Muriqi could not beat Thibaut Courtois.

Ancelotti’s side soon got on the front foot and began their relentless attacks. Vinicius Junior came close to scoring in the tenth minute before Kroos’ shot went close four minutes later.

The hosts produced a well-orchestrated attack in the 26th minute to find Rodrygo at the edge of the box. The youngster fired at goal but his effort went straight to the goalkeeper. A minute later, Lucas Vazquez found Ceballos in the box with his cross but the chance came to nothing.

Completely against the tide of the game, Mallorca scored in the 35th minute and took the lead. The visitors were awarded a free-kick after a rash challenge by Federico Valverde which Kang-in Lee perfectly delivered to the far post. Rising above those around him, Muriqi headed the ball past the Belgian shot-stopper.

One falls at a shortage of words to describe the equaliser scored late in the first half. Valverde received the ball in the Real Madrid half, ran across the field to the final third, turned past two defenders and fired it from outside the box into the top left corner.

Vinicius had a glorious chance to give his team the lead after the restart when Hazard selflessly passed it to him from in front of the goal. However, the youngster could not finish the chance.

Antonio Sanchez missed a sitter for Mallorca in the 65th minute as he failed to put the ball into an open net.

Los Blancos got their deserved lead in the 71st minute through some Brazilian magic. Rodrygo Goes did well to evade three defenders at the edge of the box before setting Vinicius free in front of the goal. With only the goalkeeper to beat, the protege made no mistake.

If his assist to Vinicius was not good enough, Rodrygo pulled off a sublime goal of his own to put the game beyond the visitors’ reach. In what was a completely solo goal, he took the ball into the Mallorca box and dribbled past the defence before dispatching it into the goal.

Antonio Rudiger then made it four for the La Liga champions as he got onto the end of a set-piece in the 92nd minute. The goal was checked for offside but stood.

The game ended 4-1 in the Merengues’ favour and sees them return to the top of the league standings. They next play midweek against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League.