Mallorca 0-1 Real Madrid: Player ratings as Los Blancos take step closer to La Liga title

Real Madrid returned to winning ways in La Liga with a 1-0 victory at Mallorca on Saturday evening.

Aurelien Tchouameni's superb strike from 25 yards settled the scores to move Los Blancos 11 points clear at the top of La Liga.

Barcelona can cut that gap back to eight points with victory at Cadiz later on Saturday, but the Spanish title increasingly appears to be heading back to the Santiago Bernabeu.

There wasn't a smidgen of action in either box until the 31st minute when a Mallorca corner sailed to Antonio Raillo at the far post, forcing an instinctive save out of Andriy Lunin with his header.

Almost immediately down the other end, Jude Bellingham thundered a fierce strike off the crossbar as Madrid heeded the warning from their hosts.

Lunin had spared Madrid's blushes in the first half but nearly had egg on his face himself when he spilled a cross under no pressure, with Ferland Mendy helping him to retrieve the loose ball before a Mallorca attacker came steaming in to poke home.

Straight out of the blocks after half-time, Bellingham drove right through the heart of the Mallorca defence and let fly, with his effort this time denied by a low save from Predrag Rajkovic.

And with their next attack, Madrid went ahead. Tchouameni — starting back in midfield after filling in at centre-back — unleashed a thunderbolt from 25 yards, and his shot took a nick off Manu Morlanes and flew right into the top corner, giving Rajkovic no chance.

Rajkovic was called into action again to keep out Brahim Diaz, who wriggled his way past several trailing Mallorca legs before taking a punt from just inside the box.

The Serbian came to Mallorca's rescue once more when Brahim failed to bulldoze his way across the line after meeting Luka Modric's