14.01.2012 » Mallorca 1-2 Real Madrid. Heart of champions allow a late remontada

Real Madrid struggled but managed to bring home the 3 points, after applying a new remontada, this time against Mallorca. Gonzalo Higuaín and Callejón were the goalscorers of the night and the Merengues can now start preparing this Wednesday's Clasico against Barcelona, for the Copa del Rey 1st leg.

Real Madrid pulled off a tough win by 1-2 at Mallorca and made sure that Barcelona will remain at least at a 5 points distance if they win their tomorrow's match against Betis. However, the Merengues had a poor display, especially in the first half, allowing Mallorca to reach half-time with a one goal lead. The story turned out to be entirely different after the break and Real Madrid scored their two goals by Higuaín and Callejón, in the last 20 minutes of the game. Cristiano Ronaldo showed once again that he's a bit far from his best shape, but still had a brilliant moment, in a powerful shot that smashed into the crossbar.

Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Mallorca vs Real Madrid
Mallorca 1-2 Real Madrid goal and highlights:

Mallorca had caused an impression just a few days ago, after beating Real Sociedad at home for the Copa del Rey, by 6-1. José Mourinho realized he didn't have an easy game ahead of him but the Merengues failed to impose their game against Joaquin Caparrós side, particularly during the 1st half. Real Madrid struggled a lot to create good goalscoring chances since most of the passing was being made at a slow rhythm and without much verticality. Most of the Merengues ball possession was being "over-chewed", as there was no objectivity in finding and taking advantage of spaces between Mallorca's defensive lines.

Unsurprisingly and after having had already a few good chances from counter-attacks, Mallorca would take the lead from an header, close to the 39th minute and things started to look ugly to José Mourinho's men. With half-time just around the corner and with a one goal disadvantage in a game where nothing appeared to be working the way they pretended, the Merengues really felt the risk of losing points in this match against Mallorca. However, there was still time to threaten the equalizer and Sergio Ramos got really close to the goal in the 44th minute, aftear heading the ball to the post, from a free kick cross made by Xabi Alonso.

Mourinho knew his team needed to change its attitude drastically in the 2nd half and in order to accomplish that, he started by replacing Lass Diarra with Gonzalo Higuaín. The Merengues improved their game slightly, but they still couldn't find the path to goal, as time kept running out. Near the 72th minute, the equalizer finally happened, from a long pass made by Mesut Ozil, which Gonzalo Higuaín managed to collect and finish with a left-foot strike. With the equalizer turned out a reality, Real Madrid immediatly started preparing their next assault, for the last 15 minutes of this game held in Mallorca.

In the 75th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo produced a magic moment after striking an impressive powerful shot from a very long distance. The way the Portuguese player kicked the ball allowed his shot to suddenly drop when approaching Mallorca's goalkeeper and crushing into the crossbar. The entire stadium was astonished with the shot as a huge "wow" could be heard from the crowd, but the final blow was about to be given 10 minutes later. Near the 85th minute, Callejón seized the opportunity coming from a rebound and hit the back of the net, completing the "remontada" and putting Real Madrid on the lead for the first time on the night. José Mourinho immediatly changed the team's tactic, returning to the classic 4-defenders line and Real Madrid managed to hold to the win until the final whistle.

Real Madrid line-up vs Mallorca:

Goalkeeper: Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Diarra, Xabi Alonso, Ozil
Attackers: Callejón, Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema

Real Madrid next game is against Barcelona for the Copa del Rey 1st leg, in the 18th of January 2012. You can watch Juventus live stream, Milan vs Inter Milan, as well as Swansea vs Arsenal and Barcelona vs Betis from our football live streams section. Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be on the line-up against Barcelona, next Wednesday.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona kick-off time (18-01-2012):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 04:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 22:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 21:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 19:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 16:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 13:00
Beijing (China) | GMT-8: 13:00

Sources: ronaldo7.net / record.pt

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