Madrid, May 15 (HS): In a match played late Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Real Madrid scored a goal in the final moments to defeat RCD Mallorca 2-1, temporarily delaying Barcelona’s hopes of winning the La Liga title.

With this victory, Madrid has reduced the gap in the points table to 4 with Barcelona. If Barcelona defeats their neighboring club Espanyol on Thursday, they can secure the title. Previously, after suffering a loss to Barcelona in the ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday, Real Madrid had no option but to win this match.

Mallorca started the match aggressively, taking the lead in the 11th minute when Martin Valjent scored. Madrid made several attempts, but Mallorca’s goalkeeper Leo Roman made excellent saves, stopping Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Federico Valverde from scoring in the first half.

In the second half, Kylian Mbappe showcased his excellent footwork in the 68th minute, dodging three defenders and finding the net to equalize the score at 1-1. This marked Mbappe’s 40th goal of the season. As the match was moving towards a draw, in the 95th minute of injury time, 20-year-old defender Jacobo Ramon headed the ball over the goalkeeper into the net, giving Madrid the victory.

Madrid’s coach Carlo Ancelotti is set to take charge of the Brazilian national team after this season. Due to injuries, Madrid fielded a team without players like Vinicius Junior and Rodrigo, but the young players displayed tremendous spirit. Meanwhile, the Mallorca team continues to fight for qualification in European tournaments and showed impressive gameplay in this match.

Now, all eyes will be on the Barcelona vs. Espanyol match on Thursday, where a victory could see Barcelona secure their 28th La Liga title.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar