MADRID: Sergio Ramos’ sensational free-kick helped Real Madrid move back above Barcelona to the top of La Liga as they defeated Real Mallorca 2-0 on Wednesday.
Ramos brushed aside Gareth Bale to take the shot and justified his claim with a curling strike into the top corner after 19-year-old Vinicius Junior had put Madrid in front in the first half.
Real’s victory at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium means they are level again on 68 points with Barca but sit above their title rivals in the table due to a superior head-to-head record.
Mallorca’s 15-year-old Luka Romero, dubbed by local media as the new Lionel Messi, became the youngest player to appear in a La Liga match. Romero entered the match in the 83rd minute, getting his first touch of the ball a few minutes later.
Mallorca complained of a foul against one of their players in the buildup that led to Vinicius’ opener in the 19th minute, but the goal stood after video review. The visitors claimed that Dani Carvajal made an illegal block on Dani Rodrgiuez to allow Real to regain possession and score. Vinicius found the net with a chip shot over goalkeeper Manolo Reina after a pass by Luka Modric.
The non-call came after Real coach Zinedine Zidane spent much of the week defending his team from accusations that it was benefiting from refereeing decisions. Real had video review decisions go their way in each of their first three victories after the break.
Ramos scored his third goal since the league resumed with a free kick that curled over the wall in the 56th. It was the 69th league goal overall for Ramos, who on Sunday overtook Ronald Koeman as the top scoring defender in the history of the league. He has a career-high eight league goals this season. Mallorca, still winless after the break, stayed just inside the relegation zone.
Earlier, Real Sociedad suffered a third consecutive defeat at home to Celta Vigo to leave their challenge for Champions League qualification in tatters.
La Real have taken just a point from their four games since La Liga restarted on June 11 and now sit seventh, six points adrift of Sevilla in fourth. Iago Aspas’ penalty on the stroke of half-time was enough to seal a 1-0 victory for Celta Vigo, who move eight points clear of Mallorca in 18th. Osasuna defeated Alaves 1-0 to climb to 11th. Alaves drop to 13th.
Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2020
