Vinicius scores as Madrid beats Mallorca and VAR
Real Madrid recovered from a goal down to beat Mallorca 2-1 at Santiago Bernabeu as the home side made light of having three goals chalked off after video assistant referee (VAR) reviews to make it three wins out of three in La Liga.
Kylian Mbappe had a seventh-minute effort ruled out for offside, and 11 minutes later Mallorca took a shock lead when striker Vedat Muriqi muscled his way into the middle at a corner to put the ball into the net off the back of his head.
Madrid struck back with two quick goals, Arda Guler heading the equaliser in the 37th minute and Vinicius Jr putting the hosts ahead a minute later having started the game when some thought having started on the bench last weekend before coming on to assist in the win against Real Oviedo.
Los Blancos were denied a third goal in first-half stoppage-time when Mbappe was again found to be offside.
Guler also had an effort ruled out 10 minutes after the break when a VAR review found him guilty of handball leading up to his effort, and Madrid needed a goalline clearance from Alvaro Carreras to secure the three points when the margin of victory could have arguably been far greater.
Madrid is now on a six-match winning streak at home in LaLiga, only its second since the 2020-2021 season.
It also embarked on a run of seven straight victories between February and May 2024.
Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said he goes into the international break pleased with how his side is playing.
"The results are important and they reflect the line you want," he said. "The work for now is to make sure we all think it's the right path.
"And now the next block, after the break, we start with the Champions League and we have to refine things but it's normal, I'm happy."
