Antonio Rudiger scored a goal in the second half to lead leaders Real Madrid to a 1-0 victory over visiting Mallorca on Wednesday evening, extending their unbeaten streak in the Spanish Premier League to 13 matches.
Vinicius almost opened the scoring in his return to competitions after his absence due to injury, but Mallorca goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic brilliantly blocked his attempt to prevent the Brazilian from scoring in the first half.
Real will be a guest on Arandina, a competitor in the fifth division, in the first round of the Spanish King’s Cup, before facing Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.
With this victory, Real Madrid’s tally rises to 48 points, three points ahead of Girona, the surprise of the tournament, which hosts third-placed Atletico Madrid later Thursday morning.
The centre-back opened the scoring in the 78th minute when he took advantage of the defense’s failure to clear a corner kick and sent a powerful header into the net, scoring his first goal of the season.
Mallorca presented a strong defensive performance and came close to surprising Real Madrid with two attempts that hit the goal frame