Real Madrid maintained their commanding lead in La Liga with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mallorca on Saturday. Aurelien Tchouameni’s long-range strike in the second half proved decisive, extending Madrid’s unbeaten league run to 25 games.
Despite resting key attackers Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo ahead of their Champions League clash with Manchester City, Madrid controlled the match. Jude Bellingham came close for Mallorca in the first half, but his effort rattled the crossbar.
Tchouameni broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half with a deflected drive from outside the area. Brahim Diaz and Fede Valverde had chances to extend Madrid’s lead, but their attempts were denied by Mallorca goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
Vinicius entered the fray in the final 30 minutes, but Madrid failed to add to their tally. Sergi Darder’s spectacular shot forced a fine save from Andriy Lunin, but Madrid held on for the victory.
Barcelona kept pace with Madrid by securing a 1-0 win at Cadiz. Joao Felix’s clever overhead kick in the first half proved to be the difference. Xavi Hernandez made several changes to his team, but they still managed to extend their clean sheet streak in the league to six games.
Atletico Madrid continued their resurgence with a 3-1 victory over Girona. Antoine Griezmann scored twice, including a penalty, to help Diego Simeone’s men move within four points of their opponents. Angel Correa also found the net for Atletico, who are now firmly in the race for Champions League qualification.
Rayo Vallecano and Getafe played out a goalless draw in the other La Liga fixture on Saturday.
