Staff Reporter.
Aurelien Tchouameni struck early in the second half to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win away at Mallorca in LaLiga on Saturday as they rested key players ahead of their Champions League quarterfinal against Manchester City.
The win lifted Real to 78 points, 11 ahead of bitter rivals Barcelona, whom they host in an “El Clasico” match at the Santiago Bernabeu next weekend.
Tchouameni scored in the 48th minute with a thunderous shot from outside the penalty area that took a deflection in off a defender to leave the goalkeeper lunging at thin air.
Copa del Rey runners-up Mallorca are 15th in the LaLiga standings on 31 points, six clear of the relegation zone.
“We’re aware of where we are in this moment in LaLiga, in the Champions League, each game is like a final,” Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference.
“Having that advantage is very important ahead of Sunday’s game [the Clasico] and that as our objective. I’m very happy, winning here is always difficult. In the second half we played at a very high level.”
“The team has been very consistent, what we’ve done is be consistent and very solid, we haven’t always played well but the team has always competed in every game,” Ancelotti added.
“Everybody talks about individual quality, which is true, we have a squad with a lot of quality, but the more quality you have, the harder it is to find commitment.”
Madrid visits Manchester City on Wednesday with their quarterfinal poised after a 3-3 draw in Spain’s capital this week.