Prepare for liftoff! Tchouameni's rocket gives confidence ahead of the City clash

Despite having one eye on big fixtures soon to come, Real Madrid maintained their stroll towards the La Liga title by beating Mallorca 1-0 at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix – their second win by that scoreline against the Copa del Rey finalists this season.

With this match sandwiched between two Champions League quarter-final ties with Manchester City, and El Clásico on the horizon, Carlo Ancelotti made six changes to his line-up. It clearly showed as Real looked disjointed going forward despite dominating territory. It took half an hour for the game’s first shot on target to arrive – a Dani Rodríguez corner for the hosts was headed goalwards by Antonio Raíllo, but Andriy Lunin kept it out.

High-flying Girona fall to inspired Cholo's army

That seemed to be the wake-up call Los Blancos needed, as two minutes later Aurélien Tchouaméni fed Jude Bellingham, who curled a 20-yard effort onto the Mallorca crossbar. But any hopes the visitors had of clicking into gear before the break didn’t materialise as they failed to work Los Piratas goalkeeper Predrag Rajković.

However, that first-half display had been forgotten two minutes into the second period when a clearance fell to Tchouaméni, who took it upon himself to strike for goal from 30 yards out. His effort deflected off Antonio Sánchez, which took it away from Rajković, who could only watch the ball sail into his top corner. Real twice came close to doubling the lead in the next 15 minutes, but Rajković denied Brahim Díaz either side of an opportunity for the home team, with Nacho crucially blocking Abdón Prats’ strike after Matija Nastasić cut the ball back to him.

In the final 20 minutes, substitute Vinícius Júnior was slaloming his way through the Mallorca defence before the ball broke to Federico Valverde; he took it round the goalkeeper but somehow failed to score thanks to brilliant defending on the line by Nastasić. Javier Aguirre’s men almost made Los Merengues pay within minutes when Sergi Darder chested the ball down and unleashed a powerful half-volley from 30 yards, but Lunin reached his top corner to make the save. Ultimately, Mallorca could not force a late equaliser, making it their fifth consecutive league match to feature one goal or fewer as Real took the three points at San Moix, something neither Barcelona nor Girona could manage this season.

LA LIGA - MATCHDAY 31

Friday

Betis - Celta 2-1 (0-0)

/Miranda 53, Fekir 83 - Larsen 90+1/

Saturday

Atl.Madrid - Girona 3-1 (2-1)

/Griezman 34 pen, 50, Correa 45+6 - Dovbyk 4/

Rayo Vallecano - Getafe 0-0

Mallorca - Real Madrid 0-1 (0-0)

/Tchouameni 48/

22:00: (4.40) Cadiz (3.50) Barcelona (1.85)

Sunday

15:00: (2.75) Las Palmas (3.15) Sevilla (2.90)

17:15: (3.15) Granada (3.10) Alaves (2.45)

19:30: (1.80) Ath.Bilbao (3.60) Villareal (4.60)

22:00: (1.33) Sociedad (5.00) Almeria (10.0)

Monday

22:00: (2.30) Osasuna (3.10) Valencia (3.40)

***odds are subject to change***