Real Madrid Suffers 1st Loss of La Liga Season in 1-0 Defeat vs. Mallorca

Real Madrid's unbeaten start to the 2019-20 La Liga season came to an end on Saturday, courtesy of a 1-0 against Mallorca.

Lago Junior gave the hosts a shock lead after just seven minutes, and while Real had their chances to tie things up before the break, Los Blancos were never able to put the minnows under real pressure. Alvaro Odriozola was sent off after the break.

Mallorca made a perfect start to the contest, opting to sit back and finding success with their very first counter. Aleix Febas eventually found Lago, who beat Odriozola before curling the ball home.

Goal couldn't believe it:

The goal seemed to rattle Real, who struggled to put together passing moves with any fluency for much of the half. They also conceded a second goal after just 15 minutes, but the assistant raised his flag to deny Dani Rodriguez an even better start to the match.

Los Blancos' defence was all over the place every time Mallorca countered, and Rodriguez almost turned home a clever cut-back. Vinicius Jr. fired a shot over the bar from long range, the only real danger Real produced inside the first 20 minutes.

The visitors improved as the half wore on, however, and both Eder Militao and Vinicius narrowly missed the target with solid chances. Karim Benzema went closest, hitting the cross bar with a half volley, and Manolo Reina made an easy save to deny Marcelo.

At half-time, sports writer Kiyan Sobhani pointed the finger at Zinedine Zidane for Real's struggles:

Real continued to push for an equaliser in the second half but couldn't find many chances initially. Ante Budimir headed a great chance for a second Mallorca goal just wide, before the hosts gambled by introducing Real loanee Takefusa Kubo, giving him half an hour of playing time against his parent club.

Sergio Ramos curled a free-kick well over the cross bar, illustrating Real's struggles on the day. And to make matters worse, Odriozola was sent off for a second bookable offence after 74 minutes, handing all the momentum to the hosts.

Per AS English, there was little doubt the second booking for a needless lunge was justified:

Ramos claimed a late penalty for minimal contact in the box, and Marcelo almost surprised Reina with a wayward cross that went goalwards. Mallorca comfortably survived the late onslaught, however, bagging their second win of the season.

The result means defending champions Barcelona now lead the standings, one point ahead of Los Blancos.

What's Next?

Los Blancos will travel to Istanbul for a UEFA Champions League clash with Galatasaray on Tuesday. Mallorca's next outing will be Saturday's La Liga contest against Leganes.