Secure The Peak Position, Real Madrid Beat Mallorca

Defender Antonio Rudiger brought Real Madrid to beat Mallorca. (X/@realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid secured the top position of the standings after beating Mallorca 1-0 in the Spanish La Liga match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Thursday, January 4 in the morning WIB. Madrid's single goal was produced by Antonio Rudiger.

Madrid started in 2024 with a slick appearance as well as won the first three points. Although he did not lower the best formation because goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was still absent and there was no centre-back David Alaba, Madrid was still able to overcome Mallorca's resistance.

In that match, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was standing under the bar. Meanwhile, Kepa, who has been replacing Courtois, was predicted.

Striker Vinicius Junior is back on the start after recovering from a muscle injury. However, his duet with Rodrygo failed to contribute a goal.

Likewise, England winger Jude Bellingham could not break down the opponent's defense to score.

The defender who broke the deadlock in that match. Rudiger's goal in the second half left Madrid unbeaten over the last 18 matches in various competitions.

The victory secured Los Merengues' position at the top of the standings with 48 points. Madrid are three points ahead of Girona's surprise team who managed to rank second.

Mallorca itself set an impressive record with five defeats, including in the Copa dek Rey. The record was finally broken by Carlo Ancelotti's troops.

Failed to add points to make Mallorca still stuck in the middle board. They are ranked 14th with 18 points.

Mallorca remains vigilant because it is only three points ahead of Cadiz who occupies the highest position of the team in the relegation zone.

In that match, Madrid had difficulties because Mallorca defended more. This makes it difficult for Los Blancos to penetrate the visitors' defense.

Even when building a strong defense, Mallorca also came as a surprise and got two golden opportunities that could actually be converted into goals. But that opportunity failed.

Meanwhile, Vinicius, who was absent for two months, almost scored in the first half. But the chances he got could be thwarted brilliantly by goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

Rudiger finally broke the deadlock after scoring a goal in the 78th minute. Starting from Luka Modric's corner, the German national team defender greeted him with a header that made the ball slide hard into the Mallorca goal.

Score 1-0 for Madrid. This is also the only goal that was created until the end of the match. Rudiger also showed his satisfaction with the goal.

"I'm happy because this is an important goal. We can win and these are three important points for us too," he said.

After winning the competition, Madrid will compete in the Copa del Rey. They face a team from the bottom division, Arandina. The team came from division five. As a result, they face Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.