REAL MADRID secured their third consecutive La Liga victory with a 2-1 comeback win against Real Mallorca on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at Alaves, marking their third straight match without a win this season.
Vedat Muriqi gave Mallorca a surprise lead at the Santiago Bernabeu before Arda Guler and Vinicius Junior struck twice in two minutes to turn the game around.
Madrid had three further goals disallowed as they continued their perfect start under new coach Xabi Alonso.
Alonso praised his team’s spirit after overcoming their limited pre-season preparation due to Club World Cup commitments.
“With good team spirit we managed to turn the game around,” Alonso told Real Madrid TV.
Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to the starting lineup after beginning the previous match on the bench.
Kylian Mbappe thought he had opened the scoring early from an Alexander-Arnold pass but was ruled offside.
Muriqi put Mallorca ahead after 18 minutes when he diverted a corner past Thibaut Courtois with his shoulder.
Madrid responded with two quick goals, first through Guler nodding home Dean Huijsen’s header across goal before Vinicius finished into the bottom corner.
Mbappe missed chances to extend the lead and had another goal disallowed before half time.
Summer signing Franco Mastantuono impressed on his first Bernabeu start at 18 years old, hitting the crossbar and being involved in Madrid’s third disallowed goal.
Alvaro Carreras produced a spectacular goal-line clearance to deny Samu Costa an equaliser as Madrid showed improved game management under Alonso.
“Now we’re starting to live the nights we dreamed of here,” new signing Carreras told the club’s television channel.
Atletico Madrid dropped points for the third consecutive game despite taking an early lead through Giuliano Simeone.
Carlos Vicente equalised from the penalty spot for Alaves before Antoine Griezmann hit the post in the second half.
Coach Diego Simeone said he remains focused on performance rather than results after his team’s disappointing start.
“I’m not looking at the points, the important thing is that the team improves and as a consequence of that, the points will improve too,” he added.
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak expressed frustration with Atletico’s current form after another disappointing result.
“We’re angry and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, we need more points and it’s our fault,” Oblak told Movistar. – AFP
