Real Madrid suffered a huge blow in their bid to retain the La Liga after they were beaten by midtable Mallorca 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

The result means that the reigning Champions remain five points behind league leader Barcelona by 5 points having played an extra game.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side came into the game with several players missing due to injuries. In defense, Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy were absent while up front Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard, and Lucas Vasquez also missed the trip to the Balearic coast.

Real Mardrid go behind

The Los Blancos fell behind in the 13th minute when Vedat Muriqi’s looping header deflected off Nacho to roll into the back of the net.

Real hardly recovered following the setback and Mallorca’s stoic defending meant that the away side could hardly gather any momentum on the pitch.

The hosts boosted by the early goal made it almost impossible for their opponents by fighting and scrapping for every loose bill in the middle of the park and keeping Real at bay.

Both sides committed several fouls and the Rojiblancos looked out of ideas as they went in search of an equalizer.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Real were handed a lifeline as they earned a penalty after Mallorca goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic clipped Vinicus Jr in the box.

Rajkovic, however, redeemed himself as he saved Marco Asensio’s poorly taken spot kick preserving his side’s lead on the day.

With just six minutes remaining, Eduardo Camavinga’s left-footed effort from outside the box went way over the Mallorca goal.

Two minutes later, the away side missed a golden opportunity as Mariano’s right-footed effort from David Alaba’s cross went just over the bar.

Despite the late pressure from Real and eight minutes of stoppage time, Mallorca held on for a huge win.

Impact on the table

The results sees them sitting in tenth in the league standings with 28 points from 20 games.

Ancelotti’s side will now travel to the Club World Cup where they take on Egyptian side Al Ahly in the Club World Cup semi-final.

However, by the time they return to play Elche in La Liga, Barcelona could go 8 points should they beat Sevilla later on Sunday evening at the Nou Camp.

Photo credit: IMAGO / NurPhoto