Real Madrid’s unexpected 2-1 loss to Mallorca at Son Moix on Saturday will probably hurt their chances of winning the Spanish championship. Alvaro Arbeloa’s team didn’t have the same flair and swagger as they did in the five games before the international break when they returned to domestic action.
Real Madrid might drop seven points adrift in the La Liga title race if Barcelona wins later in the night, which would be a devastating blow to a squad that had only begun to dream of winning the championship. The 15-time European winners will play Bayern Munich in the opening leg of the Champions League quarterfinals in just three days, which will exacerbate the situation.
Real Madrid vs Mallorca
Manu Morlanes, Mallorca’s midfielder, opened the score just before halftime in the 42nd minute. His goal remained the only goal for 46 minutes.
Los Blancos did not respond until Eder Militao’s last-minute header in the 88th minute. However, the visitors scored a game-winning goal in stoppage time, with in-form striker Vedat Muriqi in the first minute of added time, giving relegation-threatened Mallorca just their fourth victory in 2026, just when it appeared that Real Madrid would salvage at least a point from the dull contest.
Kylian Mbappe Returns For Real Madrid
After fully recovering from his persistent knee ailment, Kylian Mbappe made his first Real Madrid start since February 21. While Vinicius Junior received some much-needed rest, the Frenchman had complete control over the assault and should have had no issue taking advantage of a backline that hasn’t kept a clean sheet in 2026.
However, in the first half, goalie Leo Roman overwhelmed Mbappe. For the limited shots that were presented to the keeper, Roman had an answer to every shot made at him by Mbappe.
As the second half progressed, Mbappe’s lack of goal-scoring opportunity, or any attacking threat, became even less. Despite having unrestricted access to the attack, the 27-year-old never appeared to be much of a danger to score or create. He was even less of a factor after he was made to share the pitch with Vinicius Jr.
Alvaro Arbeloa takes responsibility for Real Madrid’s loss
Alvaro Arbeloa, the interim or new head coach, echoed his previous remarks following difficult outcomes by accepting full responsibility for the loss in his post-match remarks. The legendary Real Madrid footballer Arbeloa has been outspoken about taking responsibility for his subpar performances. In the past, he took responsibility for other failures, emphasizing that as a coach, he sets the lineup, tactics, and replacements. The pressure at the Bernabeu, where even draws may feel like failures, is highlighted by his candor.
While talking about the loss, Arbeloa said, “The defeat is on me. It’s 1000% my fault. We didn’t do today what we trained for all week. We didn’t create chances well, we lacked patience, we lacked energy, and we lacked ideas.”
After the international break, the team didn’t seem to be playing at the same intensity as during practice. Arbeloa identified shortcomings in energy levels, overall creativity, patience in build-up, and chance creation as the problems that Mallorca successfully exploited.
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