Real Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga with a 1-0 victory at Mallorca on Saturday (Apr 13). Aurelien Tchouameni's superb strike from 25 yards settled the scores to move Los Blancos 11 points clear at the top of LaLiga. FC Barcelona can cut that gap back to eight points with victory at Cadiz later on Saturday, but the Spanish title increasingly appears to be heading back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid warmed up for a pivotal week in their season with a hard-fought win over Mallorca in LaLiga thanks to Aurelien Tchouameni's long-range goal.
Madrid face Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final next Wednesday before El Clasico with FC Barcelona a week on Sunday.
Tchouameni's powerful effort just after half-time took a slight deflection before it flew high into the net.
Madrid are 11 points above second-placed Barca who face Cadiz on Monday.
With one eye on their trip to the Etihad, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti took the opportunity to rest and rotate players. Dani Carvajal, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos and Vinicius Junior – who all started in Madrid's 3-3 draw against Man City at the Bernanbeu – were all named among the substitutes. The result was a slightly scrappy performance as Mallorca, beaten by Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey last weekend, made life difficult for Los Blancos.
The contest was settled by Tchouameni's shot from 35 yards which skimmed off the leg of Manu Morlanes and gave Mallorca goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic no chance.
Jude Bellingham played 64 minutes for Madrid before he was withdrawn and, despite a few late nerves, the LaLiga leaders held on.
