Carlo Ancelotti said “anything can happen” in the LaLiga title race after a 95th-minute winning goal for Real Madrid against Real Mallorca on Wednesday prevented Barcelona from being crowned champions, for now.
Martin Valjent gave visitors Mallorca a surprise early lead, before Kylian Mbappé levelled in the second half — his 40th goal in all competitions this season — and youngster Jacobo Ramón scored an unlikely winner in added time, on his first start at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The result takes Madrid to 78 points, four behind Barça, who could still clinch the title if they beat Espanyol on Thursday, or in their following two games.
“We didn’t give up, despite having 12 injured players, which is very unusual,” Ancelotti said in his postmatch news conference. “I’d never seen a team have 40 shots on goal like we did today.
“We believe in doing our thing, winning what’s left, and seeing what happens. [Barça] have to lose, but anything can happen. We’re still in the fight.”
Madrid played Mallorca with just 10 available first-team players, after injuries on the day of the game to Andriy Lunin and Brahim Díaz were added to a string of first-team absentees.
“We made up for so many absentees with an extraordinary effort,” Ancelotti said. “If we had done that in more games, the season would have gone better.”
Ancelotti praised Jacobo and defender Jesús Vallejo, who came off the bench to provide the assist for the winning goal despite not having played since September.
“He’s played very little, but his attitude has always been top notch,” Ancelotti said, adding that Aurélien Tchouaméni would be back from suspension for Sunday’s game at Sevilla, while four injured players — Vinícius Júnior, Lucas Vázquez, Diaz and Lunin — could return.
Academy product Jacobo, who has only played twice for Madrid in LaLiga, described the feeling at scoring the winning goal as “inexplicable.”
“I’ve dreamed of this all my life,” he said. “There’s no better way to score my first goal than this.”
Mbappé became the first Madrid player to score 40 goals in his debut season, with 28 of them coming in the league, topping Alfredo di Stéfano’s 27 from 1953-54.
However, Madrid have failed to land a major trophy this campaign, being eliminated in the Champions League quarterfinals, losing the Copa del Rey final and trailing Barça in the LaLiga title race.
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