With Dani Carvajal back in the lineup, Real Madrid defeated RCD Mallorca 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to a goal from Antonio Rudiger.

The game remained goalless until the 77th minute, which made things seem tough for the league leaders and gave the impression that important points would be lost.

But then Rudiger rose to the occasion, sending a header into the net off a corner from Luka Modric to propel his club to victory and secure their position atop the standings after 19 La Liga games.

After the game, captain Carvajal congratulated his fellow defender to the media, saying that Rudiger deserved the recognition given his strong previous performances.

“He deserves it; he’s got some amazing games going on. I saw him enter after blocking him, so I had direct experience with that. cooperation,” stated Carvajal.

The right-back continued, “It’s always a difficult game after the holidays,” in his overall analysis of the game. Mallorca was very active in defense and played a really strong tactical game. Similar to Vitoria, we won thanks to the set piece.

“It’s key, making it three in three, like against Alavés, keeps you in the lead,” Carvajal said in response to a question concerning another set-piece giving them a win, similar to that against Alaves.

Real Madrid kept another clean sheet in spite of the absence of their three defensive mainstays, David Alaba, Thibaut Courtois, and Eder Militao. They have allowed just 11 goals in La Liga this season overall.

In reference to the group’s defensive resilience, Carvajal stated: “That speaks for the team’s work.” The team gives it all even with so many absentees, and the number shows that.

Ultimately, the defender concluded his evaluation of the first half of the season by stating, “We’ll probably go out as leaders.” 48 points in the season’s first half is quite a bit. We want to beat that in the second half of the season.