A severely-depleted Real Madrid completed a comeback against Mallorca to keep their La Liga title hopes alive, if only for one more night.
Just three days after losing their fourth El Clásico of the season, Real Madrid returned to La Liga action against Mallorca. With 12 players out due to injury or suspension, including Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Aurélien Tchouaméni, Carlo Ancelotti was forced to start a much-changed lineup at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Like so many times this season, poor defending cost Los Blancos in the early stages of the match. No one stayed with Martin Valjent as he made a run into Real Madrid's box and Dani Ceballos, the player closest to the defender, fell to ground with a mistimed tackle. Valjent then found the back of the net to give the visitors the 1–0 lead.
Real Madrid struggled to get past Mallorca's low block and their frustrations spilled over into the second half. Kylian Mbappé eventually found the breakthrough for Real Madrid in the 68th minute with his 40th goal of the season. The Frenchman received the ball at the edge of the box, dribbled between two defenders and buried a right-footed shot near post.
It looked like another goal was not in the cards for Real Madrid, but 20-year-old Jacobo Ramón rescued all three points for the hosts with his first career goal. The Real Madrid Castilla player hooked the ball over Mallorca goalkeeper Leo Román in the 95th minute to deny Barcelona the La Liga title on the night.
Check out the player ratings from the match below.
JOIN SI SOCCER'S REAL MADRID WHATSAPP COMMUNITY - GET ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE
Real Madrid Player Ratings vs. Mallorca (4-4-2)
Player of the Match: Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
READ THE LATEST LA LIGA NEWS, PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid 2–1 Mallorca: Player Ratings As Late Winner Delays Barcelona La Liga Title.
