Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday demanded a rapid reaction from his team after their capitulation against rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Alejandro Balde were all on target before halftime, after French forward Kylian Mbappe put Real in front in the fifth minute. Raphinha grabbed another in the second half while Rodrygo scored for Real.
Kylian Mbappe put Madrid ahead but a dominant Barcelona hit five in response before their goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off in the second half.
LaLiga leaders Real recovered from that setback and are on a five-match winning streak ahead of defending the Super Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but coach Carlo Ancelotti is cautious.
Last season, around this time, there was a surprise package in Girona in the top three of LaLiga. However, a year later, the Spanish league has returned to the status quo, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid -- the three giants of Spain -- occupying the top three spots on the table at the end of 2024.
Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo scored second-half goals to help Real to a 3-0 win over Mallorca after Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in the other last-four clash.
"Our player Luka Modric is out of the game against Mallorca today because of a viral illness," said the Spanish champions in a statement.
The Brazilian winger was dismissed in Madrid's 2-1 victory on Friday for pushing Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski in the back of the neck.
"(Luka) is a gift for football and even more for those who can enjoy it up close," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "The fans, the players, the coach... for me it's a great gift. The way he prepares for this kind of match, as if it was a final. It's a very important example for our youngsters.
Al Nassr crushed Inter Miami 6-0 as injury ruled Cristiano Ronaldo out of a much-hyped showdown with Lionel Messi, who was limited to a late substitute appearance in Thursday's friendly in Riyadh.
Spanish forward Joselu scored twice to give Real Madrid a 2-0 win at local rivals Getafe on Thursday, propelling them back to the LaLiga summit, two points ahead of surprise package Girona.
Xavi Hernandez said on Tuesday he felt "liberated" after announcing that he would step down as Barcelona coach at the end of the season.
Real Madrid have overtaken Manchester City and topped the Deloitte Football Money League as the world's highest revenue-generating club in the 2022-23 season, with commercial revenue taking over as the largest income stream for teams.
Like Xavi, Almeria coach Garitano refrained himself from dissecting the refereeing decisions.
After Real Madrid scraped a controversial 3-2 win over bottom side Almeria and a treble by Ferran Torres helped Barca win 4-2 at Real Betis, Girona demonstrated their title credentials
Defeat snapped Madrid's 21-match unbeaten run.
Vinicius Junior struck a first-half hat-trick to fire Real Madrid to Spanish Super Cup glory in a thumping 4-1 win over rivals Barcelona on Sunday in Saudi Arabia.
The Catalans beat Real Madrid in last year's final and will face their bitter rivals again Sunday after Los Blancos beat Atletico Madrid in an eight-goal thriller in the first semi-final in Saudi Arabia.
"These moments can only be experienced here. All of us who played gave our all," said Brahim Diaz.
