Madrid Stall Barça Celebrations with Last-Gasp Win Over Mallorca

Real Madrid Delay Barça Title Party with Dramatic Late Win Over Mallorca

Real Madrid pulled off a dramatic 2-1 comeback win against Real Mallorca on Wednesday (Thursday BST), halting Barcelona’s title celebrations for at least another day.

With the victory, Los Blancos trimmed the gap at the top of La Liga to four points ahead of Barça’s clash with city rivals Espanyol, where a win would still seal the title for the Catalan giants.

Madrid trailed for most of the match after Martin Valjent opened the scoring in the 11th minute, but second-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Jacobo Ramón — the latter netting in the 95th minute — completed a stirring turnaround.

Sunday’s Clasico defeat had left Carlo Ancelotti’s side on the brink of surrendering the league, but they showed late resolve to postpone their rivals’ coronation.

"The team played very well, fought hard, showed great intensity — it was a totally deserved win," said Ancelotti. "We want to end the season on a high. It started badly today, but we recovered strongly in all aspects."

Ancelotti, who will depart at season’s end to coach Brazil, is winding down a difficult campaign marked by injuries and inconsistency. On the night, Madrid were without key forwards Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes, among 12 players sidelined.

“Having 12 players injured is very unusual, but the squad responded well, both individually and collectively,” Ancelotti added.

Ninth-placed Mallorca, chasing European qualification for the first time since 2004, made a strong impression and were well-organised throughout.

Madrid’s 18-year-old prodigy Endrick nearly opened the scoring early on, but goalkeeper Leo Roman was equal to the task. Soon after, Valjent exploited acres of space to fire Mallorca into the lead past Thibaut Courtois, making his 200th La Liga appearance.

Roman continued to shine, denying Jude Bellingham, Mbappé, and Fede Valverde before the break. However, the pressure finally told in the 68th minute when Mbappé dazzled past three defenders and rifled home his 40th goal of the season — a personal milestone in an otherwise underwhelming campaign for Madrid.

With time running out, Jacobo Ramón struck deep into stoppage time to snatch victory and keep the title race alive — if only briefly — as all eyes now turn to Barça’s decisive derby against Espanyol.