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Real Madrid defeated Mallorca 4-1 in La Liga on Sunday, September 11. The win made it five out of five for the champions as they climbed back to the top of the table ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona.
Carlo Ancelotti's side came into this game having won all five of their competitive games. That included four wins in the league and a 3-0 win over Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Italian chose to give Luka Modric some well-deserved rest. Karim Benzema was also ruled out for approximately 10 days after suffering a knee twist in Glasgow.
Mallorca, on the other hand, earned five points from their opening four games. They won one, drew two and lost one game prior to their trip to Madrid. So far, they have struggled in front of goal, scoring just four goals. Javier Aguirre's men were eager to make their mark against the defending champions.
Eden Hazard started his first game for Los Blancos since January.
Real Madrid began the game by keeping possession for larger spells of time. The theme of their play this season is to be patient and pass the ball around before switching the gears up. They earned a few free-kicks in advanced positions in the early stages and did well to put Mallorca's defense under pressure.
The hosts' best chance came via Rodrygo, who cut in onto his stronger left foot and attempted a shot that was saved by Predrag Rajkovic. However, Mallorca snatched the lead against the run of play. Kang-in Lee played a pinpoint cross towards the far post area where Vedat Muriqi was unmarked. The latter met the cross with a powerful header to make it 1-0 after 35 minutes.
The game became heated following the goal as Vinicius appealed for a penalty after feeling contact in the box. He was reprimanded by a furious Antonio Raillo, who received a booking for the confrontation. The Santiago Bernabeu crowd, too, got in on the act as they let out frustrated reactions to the proceedings.
Federico Valverde then produced a piece of individual brilliance. He received the ball from Dani Ceballos in his own half and dribbled past three red shirts as he arrived on the edge of Mallorca's box. The Uruguayan then unleashed a shot with his left foot that nestled into the top-left corner to make it 1-1. The first half ended shortly after.
Real Madrid began the second half with a sense of urgency as they were buoyed by their equalizer. It is interesting to note that it was one of the hottest afternoons of the summer in Madrid. The hosts watered the pitch during the break to assist in their free-flowing passing game.
Despite dominating possession, Real Madrid were unable to convert their chances effectively as they attempted several long-range shots. The visitors' substitute Antonio Sanchez nearly restored their lead but narrowly missed from 10 yards out. Ancelotti made several changes as he hoped to snatch the lead.
However, the favor came from starters Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. The two Brazilians combined as the latter dribbled through Mallorca's defense and laid the ball off to the former. Vinicius put the ball past Rajkovic with his left foot to put Real Madrid 2-1 up after 72 minutes.
Rodrygo then went on an adventure of his own, making a solo run through Mallorca's lines before scoring with a smart shot to make it 3-1 in the 89th minute. That goal killed the game but the hosts had one more roll of the dice. Toni Kroos played in a cross towards the far post, which Antonio Rudiger met with a volley with his weak foot to score his first goal for the club.
The game ended in a 4-1 win for Real Madrid. Let's take a look at the five hits and flops from the game.
#5. Hit - Dani Ceballos
Ceballos was handed a rare start today and was nothing short of impressive as he bossed midfield. His ability to turn on a dime and navigate through narrow spaces helped Real Madrid gain control of a tightly-contested game.
He passed the ball with 91% accuracy, including four key passes and one long ball. Ceballos attempted two shots, of which one forced the goalkeeper into a diving save, while the other was blocked. He completed three dribbles and won seven of his 14 duels. Ceballos also provided an assist for Valverde's goal.
#4. Flop - Ferland Mendy
Mendy failed to influence the game with the ball as much as Ancelotti would have liked. The Italian set up his side to exploit wide areas with their sheer quality, but Mendy failed to deliver a single long ball or cross. Despite taking up positions predominantly in Mallorca's half, he did not play too many forward or incisive passes.
Ferland Mendy was also culpable for the goal Real Madrid conceded in the first half. He failed to track Vedat Muriqi's run towards the back post and the forward ended up scoring with a thumping header. Due to being too far from his opponent, Mendy was unable to effectively contest Muriqi.
#3. Hit - Samba magic from Vinicius and Rodrygo
Besides Federico Valverde's moment of magic in the first half, Real Madrid were ineffective in front of goal for long spells. Despite dominating possession, they did not create enough clear-cut chances.
Enter: Vinicius, Rodrygo.
The latter made a darting run through Mallorca's midfield, beating two players on the dribble before passing the ball to the former. Vinicius then finished the move off with a delicate touch to make it 2-1 to Real Madrid. Rodrygo then went on a run of his own, beating two defenders and faking one into a sliding tackle. He then coolly scored to make it 3-1 and put the game to bed.
Despite Mallorca's rigid defending, the two Brazilians found a way to create chances out of virtually nothing. Vinicius was awarded the player of the match award while Rodrygo put up some incredible statistics.
#2. Flop - Referee Jorge Vazquez
The referee failed to effectively assert his authority over proceedings as players from both sides committed several cynical challenges. There were also several come-togethers between Vinicius Junior and Mallorca's players as they were annoyed with his showboating and gestures towards the crowd.
However, the visitors responded with harder and more frequent fouls on the Brazilian and his teammates. It resulted in a spell of disjointed football in the second half as the game was stopped too often.
The referee should also have been a bit more strict with Vinicius, as provoking opponents is not within the code of conduct of the game.
#1. Hit - Federico Valverde
Real Madrid had a poor first half by their standards. They failed to convert their dominance in possession into clear-cut chances as Mallorca snatched a shock lead. It was increasingly looking like they would trail going into the break, but Valverde had other ideas.
He received the ball from Dani Ceballos in his own half before running a whopping 52 meters to arrive near Mallorca's box. He then unleashed a strike with his left foot to score into the top-left corner of the net. His goal was the turning point of the game as the stadium went into raptures and Real Madrid came out looking stronger in the second half.
You can watch the goal below:
