March 15, (THEWILL) – Real Madrid extended their advantage at the top of La Liga to 10 points with a win against Mallorca on Monday night, thanks to a double from Karim Benzema and a goal from Vinicius Junior.
Benzema set up Vinicius for the first goal and when the Brazilian was fouled for a penalty, the Frenchman buried the spot-kick for the second. The striker then rose to head Marcelo’s cross into the net with perfection, bringing his league record to 21 goals.
Benzema came closest during the opening exchanges, moving clean down the left after good work from Toni Kroos and Vinicius, but Sergio Rico stopped the striker’s close-range drive.
Real had a few more half-chances through Ferland Mendy and Toni Kroos before Mallorca blew a fantastic opportunity to take the lead
Angel Rodriguez sprinted over the top of Real’s defence, but Nacho made an incredible last-ditch challenge. Maffeo picked up the loose ball but could only hit the post despite being in a great position to score.
Los Blancos quickly reasserted their dominance, with Vinicius’ attempt diverted behind him and Alaba’s effort similarly stopped. It meant both sides went into the interval without a goal to show for their efforts.
Then, Real seized the lead in a dubious manner roughly ten minutes into the second half. Federico Valverde caught Iddrisu Baba dawdling on the ball and lost possession, allowing Benzema to pick out Vinicius, who finished through Rico’s legs for the game’s first goal.
As Real countered, Vinicius was pulled down in the area by Brian Olivan, giving Benzema the chance to make it 2-0, which he gladly accepted to double their advantage and put extra pressure on the hosts with time not on their side and Real gaining in confidence.
Benzema quickly added gloss to the scoring by heading Marcelo’s cross into the far corner.
Sevilla, Real’s closest rivals, have drawn their last two games, giving the Blancos extra breathing room at the top of the table. Mallorca, on the other hand, are still fighting for survival, lying only two points above the relegation zone.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
