Mallorca vs Real Madrid summary: score, goals, highlights | LaLiga Santander 2022-23

A tremendous effort from the hosts, who fought and scrapped for every ball and didn't give Madrid an inch as they tried to fight back into the game!

I mentioned before kick-off that Real Madrid generally win when they need to but they came up woefully short in Mallorca. The hosts flew out of the traps, getting in their opponents’ faces from the first whistle, which paid dividends early on. Muriqi looked to have flicked a fantastic header over Lunin but we later discovered that it was Nacho who actually diverted the ball into this own net from Rodríguez’s cross. After an incredibly slow start, Madrid started to control possession after 20 minutes or so but offered absolutely no attacking threat, with Vinícius marked out of the game and Mallorca restricting space all over the field. Long-range efforts were Los Blancos’ only hope but they failed to test Rajokvic.

After a slow start to the second period, the game came to life as Vinícius was felled in the box, allowing Asensio the chance to equalise against his former club. Rajkovic guessed right and the momentum that Real Madrid were looking for escaped them. The visitors pushed for the remainder of the half but, unusually, for them, rarely looked like scoring. They were unable to open up a stubborn home defence and resorted to slinging cross after cross after cross into the box, which eventually led to a couple of opportunities for Mariano, who volleyed over, and Rüdiger, who headed just wide in injury time.

A superb performance from Mallorca, who rarely looked like conceding. For Madrid, they now need to hope for favours elsewhere.