Real Mallorca dealt a major blow to Real Madrid’s title aspirations as Vedat Muriqi struck an added-time winner to seal a shock 2-1 win for the hosts, leaving Real four points behind Barcelona before the leaders play Atlético Madrid later on Saturday.
The hosts withstood Real’s pressure early in the game, the goalkeeper Leo Roman denying Kylian Mbappé with two diving saves, before Mallorca took the lead from their first shot on target in the 42nd minute as Manu Morlanes converted Pablo Maffeo’s cross.
Éder Militão, playing for the first time since his hamstring injury in December, equalised for Real in the 88th minute but Muriqi, the second-highest scorer in La Liga this season after Mbappé, sealed Mallorca’s win with a strike three minutes later. The victory – their first over Real in three years – moved them two points above the bottom three.
In Germany, Bayern Munich scored three times in the last nine minutes as the Bundesliga leaders came from two goals behind to snatch a 3-2 victory at Freiburg. Tom Bischof fired in almost identical shots from the edge of the box to draw them level before Lennart Karl tapped in with almost the last kick of the game to earn three points for Bayern, who were without their injured top scorer, Harry Kane. Bayern travel to Real Madrid on Tuesday for their Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Freiburg, the only German team along with Bayern to still be in the German Cup as well as a European competition, went in front a minute into the second half when Johan Manzambi whipped a sensational shot from about 25 yards out past Manuel Neuer. The hosts, who face Celta Vigo in the Europa League last eight on Thursday, then twice came agonisingly close to a second goal as they dominated early on after the break, keeping 40-year-old Neuer busy.
Freiburg doubled their lead in the 71st minute with a Lucas Hoeler volley after Neuer spilled a corner into his path, but the visitors cut the deficit 10 minutes later when Bischof threaded a shot past Noah Atubolu as the visitors upped the pressure late in the game. He did it again in stoppage time before Karl scored the winner in the dying seconds.
“We actually feel unbeatable at the moment,” said the 18-year-old Karl, whose meteoric rise this season, featuring five league goals, has made him a serious candidate for Germany’s World Cup squad. “I’m very happy. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
Meanwhile in Italy, Massimiliano Allegri, the Milan coach, said on Saturday he has not given any thought to the vacant Italy manager’s job as he focuses on getting his Serie A team back into the Champions League, despite being linked with the post. Gennaro Gattuso left the Italy job on Friday after his side’s World Cup playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties, a third straight missed qualification for the four-times champions, with Giuseppe Gravina stepping down as chief of the Italian football federation.
The 58-year-old Allegri, who won five league titles at Juventus, was asked in the buildup to Monday’s Serie A game at Napoli if he would rule out coaching Italy, now or in the future. “I started a journey last year with Milan, now we have to be focused on finishing the season well and reaching the Champions League,” Allegri said. “I haven’t thought about it yet. I’m fine at Milan and I hope to stay at Milan for a long time. It’s been a few years since I have taken part in the Champions League, if we were to qualify and I were still Milan’s coach, I’d have to get used to it again.”
Leave a Reply