Real Madrid woke from their slumbers with a three- goal blast at the start of the second half as they came back to beat lowly Real Mallorca 5-2 in La Liga on Saturday.
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Third from bottom Mallorca twice went in front with headers against a distracted Madrid at the Bernabeu before the hosts rallied after the break.
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Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Gonzalo Higuain, with his second of the game, netted in a six-minute spell and substitute Karim Benzema notched a fifth goal at the end to leave Jose Mourinho's side in second place with 61 points and 10 games left.
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A seventh straight victory in all competitions left the champions 10 points behind leaders Barcelona who host Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
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French winger Antoine Griezmann scored twice, the second with a spectacular volley, as Real Sociedad battered visiting Real Valladolid 4-1 to go fourth with 47 points.
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Sociedad are 10 points behind third-placed Atletico Madrid, who visit Osasuna on Sunday, having pushed Malaga down to fifth on 44.
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Champions League quarterfinalists Malaga host Espanyol on Sunday. Getafe are eighth with 42 points after Borja scored the only goal in a 1-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao.
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Mallorca struck first at the Bernabeu when the lively Giovani dos Santos whipped in a cross and Emilio Nsue nodded the ball in from the edge of the area in the sixth minute.
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Madrid lined up with an unfamiliar midfield that included Modric and Pepe and the two combined well to help set up Higuain for the equaliser in the 15th minute.
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Mourinho's team have often struggled at set pieces this season and they were undone again in the 21st minute when Alejandro Alfaro was left unmarked at the far post to head home a flicked-on corner.
They are known for that already. They love to score goals upon goals when they play smaller teams