Two first-half goals from Abdón Prats and Vedat Muriqi saw us overcome our relegation rivals Deportivo Alavés 2-1 in what could be a decisive game in our fight for survival.
Javier Aguirre opted to introduce a combative frontline made up of the two goalscorers, while a five-man defence continued to be the preferred tactic.
We almost got off to a nightmare start as Florian Lejeune put the hosts ahead following a corner in the fifth minute, but to the relief of the home fans, VAR ruled out the goal for handball.
We had an instant response as six minutes later Abdón Prats connected with Pablo Maffeo’s cross with an unorthodox volley and found the top corner to give us the lead.
Sergio Rico was called into action on the half-hour mark when he denied Edgar’s volley with a low, reflex save.
We went into half-time with a two-goal lead as Muriqi doubled our advantage in added time when he latched onto a loose ball in the box, spun his marker and fired into the bottom corner.
The visitors were on the offensive after the restart as Joselu forced Rico to get down low and push a fierce strike wide of the post in the 55th minute.
They would get their reward in the 73rd minute when Antonio Raillo was unlucky to deflect Joselu’s cross past Rico.
Despite Deportivo Alavés’ desperate charge forward in search of a late equaliser, we held on to ensure we recorded all three points and climbed out of the relegation zone.
RCD Mallorca: Sergio Rico, Brian Oliván, Raíllo, Valjent, Maffeo, Baba, Salva Sevilla, Take, Dani Rodrígez, Abdón, Muriqi
Substitutes: Battaglia por Baba (53'); Kang In-Lee y Gio por Abdón y Brian Oliván (68'); Fer Niño y Antonio Sánchez por Take y Salva Sevilla (82')
Goals: Abdón, 1-0 (10'); Vedat Muriqi, 2-0 (45'); Antonio Raíllo (p.p), 2-1 (72')
