Real Madrid, currently at the top of La Liga, secured a resilient victory against Mallorca, clinching the win with an impactful late header from Antonio Rudiger.
Mallorca experienced near misses twice, with Antonio Sanchez’s header striking the underside of the crossbar and bouncing onto the goal line, while Samu Costa also hit the post for the visiting team.
Those misses proved costly as Rudiger headed in from Luka Modric’s fine left-wing corner in the 78th minute.
Real are now unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions.
The result had briefly taken Real three points clear at the top, before second-placed Girona moved back level on points thanks to a 91st-minute winning goal from Ivan Martin as they beat third-placed Atletico Madrid 4-3.
Both Real and Girona have 48 points from 19 matches at the halfway point in the Spanish league season, with the Madrid side top thanks to a better goal difference.
Rudiger goal proves the difference
This was the first game since boss Carlo Ancelotti ended speculation linking him with the Brazil national team as he extended his Real contract, committing him to the club until at least 2026.
Ancelotti received a significant boost as Vinicius Jr made a comeback, marking his return to club action after nearly two months due to a hamstring injury incurred while on international duty with Brazil in November.
Vinicius Jr encountered goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic twice, with his attempts saved on both occasions – one from a challenging angle and another with a strike from outside the penalty area.
Despite being 14th in the table, Mallorca had two close calls, hitting the frame of the goal twice as they aimed for an unexpected victory.
Jude Bellingham of England leads La Liga in scoring this season with 13 goals. His standout effort, a diving header from Modric’s cross, was thwarted by the away goalkeeper Rajkovic’s acrobatic save.
After Mallorca hit the post, Real dominated as they pushed for a fourth successive win in all competitions and their ninth in their past 10 games.
They should have gone ahead when Rodrygo’s shot was parried into Brahim Diaz’s path but the substitute hit the post with a diving header when faced with an unguarded goal only a few yards out.
But Diaz’s blushes were spared thanks to Rudiger’s goal, his first in La Liga since 11 September 2022 when he scored in a 4-1 victory over Mallorca.
Morata hat-trick not enough for Atletico
Girona are playing in the Spanish top-flight for only the fourth season in their history and have never finished higher than 10th.
However, they are level on points with Real and 10 points ahead of both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, although Barca have a game in hand.
Against Atletico, Girona scored inside the opening two minutes through Valery Fernandez’s curled shot from 20 yards, before Alvaro Morata equalised from Antoine Griezmann’s pass.
Savio restored Girona’s lead after Martin’s shot had been parried and ex-Manchester United defender Daley Blind’s close-range volley made it 3-1.
Former Chelsea striker Morata secured a hat-trick, converting two assists from Rodrigo de Paul to equalize at 3-3. However, it fell short as Martin’s dramatic winner into the top corner in the first minute of injury time sealed the victory.
