Real Madrid consolidated their hold on first place in La Liga with a hard-fought 3-0 victory over Mallorca, moving them 10 points clear of second-placed Sevilla.
Carlo Ancelotti's team arrived at Son Moix in commanding form, having won their past three league games in a row and pulling off a stunning Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
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All the omens pointed to a comfortable win, given that they had crushed Mallorca 6-1 in the reverse fixture at the Bernabeu in September — their largest win of the season thus far.
Despite the odds being stacked against them, Mallorca won the first half.
cross to the back post after 10 minutes, Vedat Muriqi could have put them ahead, but instead he blasted his shot wide when he should have tested Thibaut Coutois.
Real had only managed two efforts on target by halftime, despite the threat of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo on the flanks and Karim Benzema dropping back to orchestrate things.
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The first came from Benzema, who was wonderfully saved by Sergio Rico, and the second came from Vinicius, who was superbly blocked by Mallorca right-back Pablo Maffeo.
Maffeo had the finest chance of the first half when the ball broke for him in the box after an excellent tackle from Nacho on Angel, and he took a first-time shot that grazed the outside of the post.
At the break, Mallorca were by far the happiest team, but it wasn't to last. With 55 minutes on the clock, Real took the lead when Iddrisu Baba lost possession on the edge of his own area to Federico Valverde, and Benzema swooped in and stroked the ball to Vinicius, who was ice cold as he slotted low beneath Rico from a tight angle.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, Benzema and Vinicius linked superbly before the latter was pushed over by Olivan in the box. With a flourish, Benzema stepped up to score from the penalty spot, sending Rico the wrong way.
After a sweeping cross from Marcelo, the 34-year-old made it 3-0 five minutes later with a looping header into the top corner.
Real are now 10 points ahead of Sevilla in second place, and appear to be on their way to their 35th league title.
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