Real Madrid: 3 stars and 2 flops from an important win against Mallorca

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Real Madrid, Nacho Fernandez (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) /

Real Madrid’s closest competitor in LaLiga this season, Sevilla, dropped points against Rayo Vallecano in a 1-1 draw in the Spanish Capital. This valiant effort from the team based in Madrid helped the giants of the Spanish Capital, Real Madrid to open up a decisive 10-point gap at the top of LaLiga’s standings. Thanks to yet another masterclass in attack from Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior.

While the victory against Mallorca was sweet and puts the league leaders in perfect position, 10 points clear on the top with 30 more points to play for, fans would, in the end, remember this game for horrible referring and three major injury concerns before the second Clasico of the league scheduled for the upcoming weekend. The trio of Rodrygo Goes, Karim Benzema, and Ferland Mendy had to leave the pitch unprecedented. And, the timing is the worst, just before El Clasico when FC Barcelona is playing their best football since 2019/20.

Here are the stars and flops from an impressive victory that could end up hurting Los Blancos in form of time-off for three first-team stars.

Star: CB Nacho Fernandez

There were a lot of players on the pitch who were as important as Nacho was for Real Madrid. Toni Kroos, Carlos Casemiro, Fede Valverde and Lucas Vazquez are few names. But, Nacho in my opinion was an undisputed star in this fixture. David Alaba wasn’t at his very best in this one. He was missing that partnership he has formed with Eder Militao. But, Nacho does not need any sort of adjustments. He is simply ready for the get-go whenever he is called up by his coach.

Nacho put it a brilliant tackle to deny Mallorca’s Angel Rodriguez a goal in the first half, won four of his six duels including three in the air. He was solid defensively with two clearances and one each of tackles, interceptions, and blocks, per SofaScore. This is why Nacho is so reliable. There is no regularity to the way he is used by Carlo Ancelotti but whenever he is called up, he delivers. A true club servant!

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