Mallorca Secures Last-Minute Victory, Dealing a Major Blow to Real Madrid’s LaLiga Ambitions

Real Madrid enjoyed a significant share of possession but found themselves thwarted by a resolute Mallorca defence during the first 15 minutes.

This dynamic seemed poised to change when Antonio Rudiger’s long ball set Kylian Mbappée free. However, Mallorca regrouped swiftly to block his shot, and although Mbappé managed a cross for Manuel Angel, the latter’s header was comfortably caught by Leo Roman.

Mbappé continued to pose a threat, connecting with a sweeping ball from Arda Guler, forcing a fine save from Roman with his foot. Shortly after, he attempted to curl a shot around the goalkeeper, who was again up to the task.

As the match reached the half-hour mark, Mallorca’s defence held firm, with Roman busy again, this time turning away a floated cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, which was struck goalwards by Guler’s cushioned volley.

But all the missed opportunities haunted Real Madrid just before half-time in the 42nd minute. Pablo Maffeo found space on the right and sent in a cross that Morlanes calmly guided past Andriy Lunin, marking the hosts’ first shot on target.

After the restart, Real’s attacking efforts continued to stall, with another potential chance for Mbappé denied by the Mallorca keeper. In response, Alvaro Arbeloa opted to introduce Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior into the mix.

However, both struggled to make an immediate impact as Mallorca maintained a deep defensive line, looking to counterattack. Bellingham did play a role in a sustained attack, but it ended with Aurelien Tchouameni’s wayward shot as the clock neared the final ten minutes.

Then, Eder Militao found himself wasteful with a header from a set-piece, but he redeemed himself in the 88th minute by rising to meet Alexander-Arnold’s corner with a powerful header that drew Real level.

It appeared Militao had rescued a point for Los Merengues, but as injury time commenced, Martin Demichelis’ side launched an attack, and Mateo Joseph set up Muriqi, who fired the winner into the roof of the net.

This victory marked just Mallorca’s second win in their last eight games and their first against a top-seven opponent this season.

For Real Madrid, the loss ended their five-match winning streak across all competitions, leaving them at risk of trailing by as many as seven points in the title race this weekend.