PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain, April 4 (Reuters) - Mallorca dealt a major blow to Real Madrid's title aspirations as Vedat Muriqi scored an added-time winner to secure a 2-1 win for the hosts, leaving Real four points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona who play Atletico Madrid later on Saturday.
Kosovo forward Muriqi, who was panned for his lacklustre performance when his country failed to qualify for the World Cup with a loss to Turkey on Tuesday, broke down in tears as his strike lifted Mallorca two points above the bottom three.
"Sometimes the emotions get the better of you, you can't keep the tears in," said Muriqi, who is second in LaLiga's scoring charts with 18 goals, five below Real's Kylian Mbappe.
"Losing what was a final for us to reach the World Cup, then we're winning and (Real) equalise. Then, the late goal... I'm just happy to repay (the supporters), we want to stay in this division for them."
Mallorca withstood sustained pressure from Real throughout the first half, as the visitors dominated possession and targeted Mbappe with crosses.
Mbappe had an early shot blocked by a sliding Pablo Torre, before keeper Leo Roman kept out his close-range effort with an outstretched foot in the 22nd minute.
Roman denied Mbappe again with a diving save three minutes later, before keeping out Arda Guler's volley shortly after the half-hour mark.
MAFFEO FINDS A WAY FOR MALLORCA
Mallorca right-back Pablo Maffeo fought back with a probing run in the 35th minute, and his perfect cross found Muriqi, who set up Manu Morlanes in the six-yard box, only for the midfielder to head wide.
But the same attacking blueprint paid off for Mallorca just seven minutes later, when Morlanes sprinted into the box to receive Maffeo's cross with a light touch before dispatching it into the bottom right corner as Real defenders looked on stunned.
Mallorca, leading after scoring from their first shot on target, faced a renewed offensive from Real in the second half, as the visitors brought on Eder Militao, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham at the hour mark.
Militao, playing for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in December, marked his return to soccer with a crucial late equaliser that almost saved the day for Real, as he headed in from Trent Alexander-Arnold's corner in the 88th minute.
But just three minutes later, Muriqi fired the ball into the top corner from Mateo Joseph's pass to seal Mallorca's first win over Real since February 2023.
Real, who next face Bayern Munich in the Champions League, will continue their league campaign against Girona on Friday, while Mallorca host Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
"This defeat is on me and I’ve told the players that... I need them to start thinking about Tuesday’s match now," Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa told reporters.
"I need them to give their all in the Champions League, in a competition that’s absolutely vital. When they come out of the dressing room, they must think only of Bayern."
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
