MADRID: Manager Carlo Ancelotti heaped praise on his young players who helped a depleted Real Madrid fight back to beat Mallorca 2-1 thanks to academy centre-back Jacobo Ramon’s dramatic winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

The win delayed Barce­lona’s title celebrations and kept Real’s slim hopes alive but, while they have two games remaining, they are four points behind leaders Barca, who have a game in hand and will claim their 28th La Liga title on Thursday if they beat city rivals Espanyol.

“We didn’t give up despite having 12 players injured, something that is very rare,” Ancelotti, who confirmed on Monday that he would be leaving Real at the end of the season to take over the vacant Brazil national team job, told a press conference.

“The match was won tha­nks to a good attitude from the team and the players who came in and delivered a good performance. I’ve never seen a team shoot 40 times at goal like we did today.

“We have covered so many absentees with an extraordinary effort by all the players who did step foot on the pitch today. If we had done it in more games with this same attitude throughout the season, it would have been a better campaign.”

The Italian’s side, riddled with injury problems, were without Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes among other star names as Mallorca visited the Santiago Bernabeu.

The islanders, ninth, are hoping for European football for the first time since 2004 and put up a strong performance.

Mallorca took an early lead when defender Martin Valjent received the ball on the right of the box in an ocean of space. The defender took his shot early and beat Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, making his 200th La Liga appearance.

Kylian Mbappe levelled for Real after 68 minutes, with some superb footwork to escape three Mallorca players trying to shut him down, and he drilled past goalkeeper Leo Roman.

It was Mbappe’s 40th goal of a productive season on a personal level, although his team are set to end it without a major trophy and having been beaten four times by Barca across all competitions.

Barca were seconds away from celebrating the title as a 1-1 draw would have given them an unassailable six-point lead in the standings thanks to a superior head-to-head record.

But a mistake by Mallorca’s defence, who failed to clear a cross from inside the box, allowed Ramon, making his first league start, to pounce on the ball and fire a volley into the back of the net to keep Real’s slim title hopes alive.

“This is inexplicable” unli­kely hero Ramon told Real Madrid TV. “I’ve dreamed abo­ut it all my life. This shirt is until the end and there is no better way to score my first goal than like this.”

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2025