Sergio Ramos puts Real Madrid ahead in La Liga hunt

Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos and Vinicius Junior both scored as Los Blancos defeated Mallorca 2-0 to return to the top of the La Liga table.

In the 19th minute, the Brazilian chipped in the first goal of the match before Ramos netted the ball from a brilliant free-kick in the 56th minute.

Gareth Bale was included in Zinedine Zidane's starting lineup for the first time since February. He struggled to make an impact although he fired a shot in the sixth minute, which was refused by Mallorca goalkeeper Manolo Reina.

Real had the opportunity to score more goals, as their big-ticket signing Eden Hazard curled wide from 25 yards out. Meanwhile, Karim Benzema's shot went straight to Reina.

According to the BBC, Mallorca's 15-year old Luka Romero became the youngest ever player to play in La Liga, when he was sent in during the second half.

Zidane's men are now back on equal footing with Barcelona on 68 points. Barcelona has won one match more than Real and the Catalans boast a better overall goal difference. However, given the superior head-to-head record, Los Blancos are leading their arch-rivals on top of the table.

The match saw five yellow cards, with Real getting four of those. Ramos' men committed 18 fouls as compared to Mallorca's 12.

Previously, there were talks that Real Madrid had been receiving favourable refereeing decisions since the Spanish league resumed following the coronavirus lockdown. However, Real captain Ramos has rubbished those suggestions.

After the match, he said, "All this noise is to be expected because now we are top of the league, people weren't saying so much about us before that. I don't think any pre-determined decisions are being taken, it's as if we have to say thanks to the referees for being top of the league. People need to stop making things up."

The Madrid side hasn't won La Liga since 2017. Real still has seven games to play and Zidane would want to win all of those matches.

Even if Barcelona also wins all their matches, Real would still eventually lift the league trophy, given that they too win all their games.

Mallorca, on the other hand, is struggling to get out of the relegation zone. They are currently three points adrift of safety.