The fight for survival lives on as we produced our finest performance of the season to overcome relegation rivals Celta Vigo 5-1 and reduce the gap from safety to just five points.
Vicente Moreno made two changes to the side that lost 3-1 to Athletic Bilbao three days prior, swapping Lago Junior for Ante Budimir while Aleksandar Sedlar was among the substitutes as Lumor made his first appearance since the enforced break having recovered from injury.
The tension that comes with a season-defining fixture did little to stem drama as just seven minutes into the fixture referee De Burgos Bengoetxea adjudged Santi Mina to have tripped Dani Rodríguez in the box. Following a nervy wait which felt like an eternity, in addition to initial confusion as to whether or not it had been given, Budmir held his nerve from the spot to give us the lead.
Moreno and his coaching team had barely composed themselves in the dugout before goaline technology was called into action as a matter of inches sepearted Manolo Reina’s lightening reflexes from Jeison Murillo’s close-range header resulting in a goal.
An all-important three points swung further in our favour moments before the half-hour mark as Cucho Hernández combined with Take Kubo to score our first goal since the restart of competitive football from open play with a curing effort out of Rubén Blanco’s reach.
Alejandro Pozo crowned off a fantastic first half when Kubo teed up the youngster to skip past a challenge and register his first strike for the club with a fine strike on his weaker foot just inside the box.
Although the visitors came close to pulling one back before the break courtesy of Nolito’s attempt directly from a corner crashing against the crossbar, an action-packed first half ended with us heading into the changing rooms with the largest margin we had recorded all season.
Several changes from the visitors paved the way for an adventurous formation in search of a way back into the game, and manager Óscar García Junyent’s gamble initially paid off when Pozo hauled down Mina in the box for Iago Aspas to convert the resulting penalty.
Gaps began to appear in the final third as the Galician chased the game, ultimately resulting in Salva Sevilla threading a pass through through for Budimir to equalise Dani Guiza's 2007/08 record of four league braces in a single season with a calm flick past the on-rushing Blanco.
Provider then turned goalscorer on the hour mark with a rasping effort from 25-yards to put the game well and truly beyond the reach of Celta Vigo and crown a fine performance which saw us hit five goals in a La Liga match for the first time since 2008 - a game which ended in a club record 7-1 win against Recreativo de Huelva.
Our first three points in over three months will leave Moreno's men with renewed optimism ahead of a visit to Atletico Madrid in as many days time as we continue our fight for survival.
RCD Mallorca: Reina, Pozo, Valjent, Raíllo, Lumor (42’), Kubo (82’), Baba, Salva Sevilla (82’), Dani Rodríguez (73’), Cucho Hernández, Budimir (73’)
Substitutes: Parera, Sedlar, Sastre, Xisco Campos, Señé, Fran Gámez (42’), Febas (73’), Trajkovski (82’), Chavarría (73’), Lago Junior (82’), Luka, Abdón
RC Celta: Rubén Blanco, Kevin Vázquez (71’), Murillo, Araujo, Olaza, Okay (45’), Bradaric, Rafinha (71’), Denis Suárez (28’), Aspas, Santi Mina (62’)
Substitutes: Iván Villar, Rosic, Nolito (28’), J. Hernández, Smolov (45’), Jorge Sáenz, Aidoo (71’), Fernández (71’), Brais Méndez (62’), Pape Cheikh, Jacobo, Fontá
Goals: Budimir, 1-0 (12’); Cucho, 2-0 (26’); Pozo, 3-0 (40’); Aspas, 3-1 (49’); Budimir, 4-1 (52’); Salva Sevilla, 5-1 (60’)
