Xabi Alonso praises Vinicius after Madrid beat Mallorca 2-1

Overview

• Real Madrid continued their winning streak in the ongoing La Liga season.
• They defeated Mallorca 2-1 in their third game.
• Head coach Xabi Alonso praised Vinicius for his performance.

Real Madrid continued their winning streak in the ongoing La Liga season with a 2-1 victory over Mallorca in their third game. The visitors struck first when Vedat Muriqi scored with a header, but goals from Arda Guler and Vinicius Junior turned the match in Madrid’s favour. The score remained 2-1 until the final whistle.

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Head coach Xabi Alonso praised Vinicius for his performance and decisive goal. In his post-match news conference, Alonso said: "[Vinicius] performed well. It was a better game for him than against Osasuna [on Aug. 19] and it was an important goal to put us in front ... I'm happy with Vini's game, he's scoring goals and that's important."

Madrid also saw three goals disallowed in the game. Two of Kylian Mbappé’s efforts were ruled offside, while Guler’s strike was cancelled out due to handball.

Addressing that decision, Alonso explained: "The fourth official said the handball had to be 'immediate' [to be disallowed] and after that then it depends on the referee's interpretation. It would have been important to get the third goal. It's his interpretation, that's his role."

"The start has been good" - Alonso

With three wins in as many matches, Madrid sit at the top of the league table with nine points. Across those games, they have scored six goals while conceding only once. Speaking about maintaining momentum, Alonso said the team is focused on improving while building consistency.

"I'd like to keep going, and have the players here. But we knew in these three games, after a mini preseason, it was important to compete, to keep improving things, defining the path we want. Now we have the break and then the next block of games, including the Champions League. But the start has been good. There are some good things, and some things to correct," he said.

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Real Madrid’s next La Liga fixture is against Real Sociedad on September 13 at the Reale Arena.