Aurélien Tchouameni scored early in the second half to give Real Madrid a 1-0 victory at Mallorca in La Liga on Saturday as they rested their key players ahead of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City.
The victory took Madrid to 78 points, eight points clear of bitter rivals Barcelona, who they are hosting in a match The classic match at the Bernabeu next weekend.
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“We know where we are in La Liga, in the Champions League, every game is like a final,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his post-match press conference.
“Having this advantage is very important before Sunday’s match (the Clasico) and that is our goal. I am very happy, winning here is always difficult. In the second half we played at a very high level.”
Tchouameni scored in the 48th minute with a thunderous shot from outside the penalty area that deflected off a defender to leave the goalkeeper scrambling through the air.
Copa del Rey runners-up Mallorca are 15th in the La Liga table with 31 points, six clear of the relegation zone.
He used Saturday’s game in Mallorca not only to rest key players such as Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Toni Kroos, but also to give starts to Nacho and Antonio Rüdiger. Tchouameni is suspended for the City clash.
Nacho and Rüdiger looked solid against Mallorca in a match Madrid should have won by a bigger margin.
“I didn’t rest the players for physical reasons, the whole team is fine, only Rodrygo took a knock and wasn’t 100% but the rest were fine,” Ancelotti added.
“Brahim (Díaz) played a spectacular match, Lucas Vázquez, Luka Modric did very well. Physically, the team is doing well. We will win on Wednesday with our attitude, not thanks to our physical condition.”
Jude Bellingham had the best chance in a dour first half when his shot bounced off the crossbar.
After Tchouameni scored, Madrid wasted several chances to extend their lead, including Díaz missing a goalkeeper from close range.
Ancelotti equaled Zinedine Zidane with 183 league matches coached for Madrid, just behind Miguel Muñoz’s record of 424 league appearances.
“The team has been very consistent, what we have done is been consistent and very solid. We haven’t always played well but the team has always been competitive in every game,” added Ancelotti.
“Everyone talks about individual quality, and it’s true, we have a team with a lot of quality, but the more quality there is, the more difficult it is to find commitment.”
Information from ESPN’s Alex Kirkland, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
