By Our Spanish Football Correspondent
REAL MADRID’S title charge hit the buffers in the Balearics last night as Mallorca pulled off a stunning 2-1 upset that left the Galacticos red-faced and reeling.
On a night where all eyes were on the returning Kylian Mbappe, it was Mallorca’s towering talisman Vedat Muriqi who stole the headlines, nodding home a dramatic 91st-minute winner to send the Son Moix into absolute delirium.
The script was supposed to belong to Mbappe. Making his first start since February following a knee injury, the Frenchman was expected to be the protagonist. Instead, he looked a shadow of his usual self, shackled by a dogged Mallorca backline and thwarted time and again by the inspired Leo Roman in the home goal.
The Breakthrough
Madrid started with the swagger of champions-elect but lacked the killer instinct. They were made to pay just before the interval when Manu Morlanes ghosted into the box to meet a Pablo Maffeo cross, wrong-footing Andriy Lunin to give the hosts a shock lead.
Alvaro Arbeloa, standing in the technical area with the weight of the world on his shoulders, turned to his bench in the second half. On came the big guns: Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior were summoned to save the day.
Late Drama
The pressure finally told in the 88th minute. Trent Alexander-Arnold, showing exactly why Madrid brought his wand of a right foot to Spain, whipped in a trademark set-piece. Eder Militao rose highest to power a header home, seemingly rescuing a point for the visitors.
But the “Pirates” of Mallorca hadn’t read the script.
Deep into stoppage time, substitute Mateo Joseph carved open the Madrid defense, finding Muriqi. The Kosovan international, who has been in clinical form all season, made no mistake, smashing a finish across Lunin to notch his 19th goal of the campaign and secure a historic victory.
Title Race Blow
The result is a catastrophe for Los Blancos. With Barcelona lurking, this slip-up could see the gap at the top widen to seven points. For all the individual brilliance of Mbappe, Bellingham, and Vinicius, they were outfought and outthought by a Mallorca side that refused to blink.
Madrid now head into their Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich with more questions than answers. As for Mallorca, they celebrate a night when the stars of Madrid were eclipsed by the spirit of the island.
