Leaders Barcelona Extend Lead, Force Real Madrid to Win Against Valencia
Barcelona continued its steady march at the top of LaLiga, defeating Mallorca 3-0 this Saturday at the Camp Nou in the 23rd matchday, thus forcing Real Madrid—now four points behind—to beat Valencia on Sunday to keep up the chase.

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski (29') opened the scoring at a moment when the Balearic side had not seen their goal threatened. The resurgent Lamine Yamal (61') extended the lead with a stunning left-footed strike to beat Leo Román, who didn't even attempt to reach the ball. To seal the match, Marc Bernal (84') scored on a counterattack after elegantly dribbling past a defender.

Hansi Flick's team now has 58 points, four more than the Blancos, who must win at Mestalla.

"I was not happy with the first half; we weren't dynamic, we weren't at our level, the play and passes were too slow," admitted Flick in a press conference, before demanding more from his team going forward.

Mallorca's Early Threat
At the start of the match, Jagoba Arrasate's pupils caused damage especially down the left flank, despite Barça dominating possession.

Winger Jan Virgili (11') beat Jules Koundé in a race into the area, but his pass to Vedat Muriqi was intercepted by Eric García in the first warning from the visitors.

Even so, the azulgranas controlled the tempo, but the Mallorca players were comfortable with Virgili repeatedly outpacing Koundé.

Mallorca enjoyed the first clear chance after a cross from the 19-year-old Catalan Virgili (18') from the right side; however, his pass to Muriqi at the far post was forced and the ball brushed the post. The visitors continued exploiting the right side with balls to Virgili. The attacker (21') created space against Koundé to send in a ball that forced Joan García to stretch to make the save.

Turning Point and Second-Half Surge
But just when everything seemed under control by the Balearic team, Lewandowski pounced on a rebound in the area after a blistering shot from Marcus Rashford and, after feinting a shot against the Mallorca defense and goalkeeper Leo Román, scored at his leisure.

Before halftime, Yamal (45+3') almost made it two, but sent a ball set up by Koundé wide after a Rashford free-kick forced Leo Román into an excellent save.

The pace of Barcelona's play increased in the second half. Marc Casadó (53') hit a volley from the edge of the area that was tipped onto the crossbar after David López slightly deflected it with his head.

Then, Yamal pulled an unstoppable shot out of his locker from the edge of the box, leaving the Mallorca players stunned, to make it 2-0. Later, Joan García (80') prevented Mallorca from pulling one back after a mistake by Fermín.

"We are in a great moment. We know what we have to do and we execute it well," stated Casadó to Movistar+, before referring to their Copa del Rey semifinal opponent, Atlético de Madrid: "They are a great team and we know they won't make it easy."

Two Postponed Matches
Unbeaten in 2026 and fully revitalized since the arrival of their new manager, American Pellegrino Matarazzo, Real Sociedad (8th) defeated (3-1) the promoted Elche (13th) and continues its impressive climb, now three points off the sixth spot, which grants access to the Conference League.

Furthermore, the Rayo Vallecano-Oviedo match was postponed hours before kickoff because the pitch did not meet the "necessary guarantees," announced LaLiga, a day after the Madrid club's squad denounced the situation.

The Sevilla-Girona match was also postponed, to Sunday, due to an orange alert for heavy rains and strong winds affecting the Andalusia region.