Direct This is how we live it
Madrid has been leaving little pieces of the League away from the Santiago Bernabéu and who knows if they still have something to scratch on the plate.
First it was Vallecas, then Villarreal and this Sunday it was Mallorca, an island-trench where the whites crashed again and again against the wall built by Javier Aguirre.
The Mexican, a veteran of a thousand battles, produced a masterpiece on how to make his resources profitable: he dried up Madrid footballingly with an insurmountable defensive funnel, he managed to get Vinicius out of the game with that famous 'other football', it was as intense as Hernández allowed him Hernández (29 fouls) and took advantage of the slightest opportunity he had to win the match: an own goal by Nacho.
He did not shoot on goal.
So that.
1-0 and La Liga in the hands of what Sevilla manages to get out of the Camp Nou.
Ancelotti started accumulating footballers in the center of the field.
Tchouaméni, Ceballos, Valverde, Camavinga's mobility from the left side and the support of Asensio and Rodrygo in creation.
A theoretically versatile Madrid that left Vinicius fixed to threaten the left lane.
Practice, however, did not accompany that idea.
Mallorca, with five defenders, two defensive midfielders and the help of Dani Rodríguez and Kang-In Lee behind the giant Muriqi, felt comfortable in the intensity of their trench.
Because in Madrid's first attack play, Mallorca presented some of its weapons.
Dani Rodríguez left Vinicius the classic 'message' without the ball, the Brazilian scrambled and there Maffeo and Raíllo appeared, who began their attempt to take the young Real Madrid striker out of the game.
Ten minutes later, Aguirre's men dusted off the second part of their artillery: Muriqi.
The Kosovar striker won a strike from Rajkovic from his goal in the air, the ball remained in three quarters of the field for Mallorca and Dani Rodríguez did what he knows best: hung the ball on the giant.
Muriqi got ahead of Nacho on the mark and the Spanish defender ended up sending the ball over Lunin, a starter due to Courtois' inconvenience in the warm-up.
It was the only shot on goal for Mallorca in the entire match.
A reflection of his intentions.
The goal confirmed Aguirre's game plan, which further sank the defensive block of a team that had become a funnel for Ancelotti's men.
The second least thrashed team at home and the group of the five major leagues that makes the most of their goals.
That was what Madric was facing, a wall.
The Whites were unable to shoot on goal in the entire first half and found themselves prisoners of the guerrilla warfare that the game became.
Mallorca made 12 fouls, who went to the changing rooms without yellow cards, and Madrid committed half, with Ceballos and Vinicius reprimanded.
The Brazilian was lost in his personal battle against Maffeo, Raíllo and the referee and only woke up after the break.
The whites, in a constant of horizontal passes, lateral crosses and shots from distance, did not cloud the rival goal at any time.
La Liga, which was already five points away, was further away.
The break, which was reached with a lot of tension, calmed things down somewhat and focused the Real Madrid squad, who found it more like coming out of the locker room.
Mallorca maintained its style despite the fatigue.
He took more yellow cards due to accumulation, but he did not stray from Aguirre's script.
His wall stood.
In the 59th minute and with Madrid living their best minutes, Rüdiger found Vinicius long, the striker arrived before Rajkovic and was brought down inside the area.
A golden option for the whites that Asensio missed and deflected the local goalkeeper, diving for his left post.
The entry of Modric, Kroos and Alaba improved Vinicius and Madrid's attack, but found no reward against the undaunted Balearic defense.
Ancelotti, with no options on the bench and with the rival locked up, ended up betting on Mariano for the aerial game.
The striker had a couple of chances, but none were clear, and the Whites said goodbye with Kroos and Rüdiger trying to repeat, without success, Warsaw's saving goal.
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