French youngster Aurelien Tchouameni made the headlines with his stunning winner as Real Madrid edged out Mallorca to maintain their grip on the LaLiga title race.
The runaway league leaders lorded the game over their lowly-rated opponents but it was still a tricky tie with Mallorca resiliently keeping off the LaLiga and European giants in their final third.
They frustrated Real Madrid’s incessant offensives with their deep-seated low block while exploring opportunities to pounce with quick counters.
Despite a dominant grip of the game, it was a deadlock for Real Madrid in the hosts’ final third. They struggled to break down the compact defence by the home side, including navigating through the tight spaces.
Mallorca’s tactics did pay off. They ended the first half preventing the Los Blancos’ wild attacking arsenals from doing damage as it ended barren at the break.
It was a disappointing first half for the away side, but a gratifying one for Mallorca who were pretty comfortable but needed another 45 minutes to hold on for a point.
Unfortunately, they were finally ripped apart by Real Madrid’s attacking arsenal but the goal came from an unlikely source and it was a stunner.
From 30 yards out, Tchouameni let fly a thunderbolt. Mallorca goalkeeper Rajkovic would have apparently saved it but the ball deflected off Morlanes wickedly and curled like a measured projectile into the top right corner.
It was a lucky one for the French star and Real Madrid but a stunner of a goal. Mallorca began breaking off their low block in search of an equaliser but the goal was enough to hand the Los Blancos all three points.
They temporarily extended the lead on top of the LaLiga table to 11 points but were pegged back to 8 points after Barcelona edged out Cadiz in the other matchday 31 clash.
The Los Blancos returns to action on Wednesday, April 17 against Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg at Etihad.
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