Bellingham leads Madrid past Mallorca to set up a Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Jude Bellingham scored again to lead Real Madrid into the Spanish Super Cup final with a 3-0 win over Mallorca in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The England midfielder, who led Madrid in scoring last season, started this campaign slowly but has netted seven goals in his last eight Spanish league games.

He notched another goal in 63rd minute of the Super Cup semifinal when he finally broke down a tough Mallorca that until his goal had imposed its defensive style on the star-studded Madrid.

Bellingham blasted in the third shot in a row by Madrid after Rodrygo initially hit the post and goalkeeper Dominik Greif blocked a follow-up by Kylian Mbappé. Bellingham collected the rebound and slotted his shot from just outside the six-yard box under the on-rushing Greif and past three defenders who were trying to protect the goalmouth.

Madrid tacked on two goals late in stoppage time. Mallorca's Martin Valjent scored an own goal when he inadvertently turned a pass by Brahim Díaz into his net. Rodrygo then took Madrid's third.

The match ended with a short scuffle after the final whistle before calm was restored. It started when Bellingham slapped the back of the neck of Mallorca defender Pablo Maffeo, who had had an intense duel with Vinícius Júnior during the game.

Barcelona awaits Madrid in Sunday’s final.

Madrid lost Aurélien Tchouaméni, a midfielder playing as a central defender, in the 54th after he took a hard knock to the head during a collision with a Mallorca player. Youth player Raúl Asencio replaced him.

Madrid was competing as last season’s Spanish league champion, while Mallorca was invited as the runner-up in the Copa del Rey.

Former Madrid striker Karim Benzema, who now plays in the Saudi Arabian league, was in attendance.

The minor trophy has become a major cash maker for the federation and competing clubs since the federation struck a deal in 2019 to hold it in the Middle Eastern kingdom.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Mallorca's goalkeeper Dominik Greif saves Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe's shot during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni, centre, walks out of field after an injury during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Supporters cheer ahead of the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti gestures during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Real Madrid's Ferland Mendy throws the ball during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Real Madrid's Rodrygo is challenged by Mallorca's Pablo Maffeo, right, during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, right, is challenged by Mallorca's Omar Mascarell during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A supporter cheers before the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Supporter cheer before the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday struck down abortion restrictions by conservative cities and counties at the request of the state attorney general.

The unanimous opinion reinforces the state’s position as having some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country. The ruling preserves access to abortion procedures across a state that has become a major destination for people from other states with bans, including neighboring Texas.

Attorneys representing the cities of Hobbs and Clovis and Lea and Roosevelt counties had argued that provisions of a federal “anti-vice” law known as the Comstock Act block courts from striking down local abortion ordinances.

Writing for the majority opinion, Justice C. Shannon Bacon said that state law precludes cities and counties from restricting abortion or regulating abortion clinics.

“The ordinances violate this core precept and invade the Legislature’s authority to regulate access to and provision of reproductive healthcare,” she wrote. “We hold the ordinances are preempted in their entirety.”

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez praised the court’s ruling Thursday, saying that the core of the argument was that state laws preempted any action by local governments to engage in activities that would infringe on the constitutional rights of citizens.

“The bottom line is simply this: Abortion access is safe and secure in New Mexico," he said. "It’s enshrined in law by the recent ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court and thanks to the work of the New Mexico Legislature.”

New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martinez called access to health care a basic fundamental right in New Mexico.

“It doesn’t take a genius to understand the statutory framework that we have. Local governments don’t regulate health care in New Mexico. It is up to the state,” the Albuquerque Democrat said.

Opposition to abortion runs deep in New Mexico communities along the border with Texas, which has one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S.

But Democrats, who control every statewide elected office in New Mexico and hold majorities in the state House and Senate, have moved to shore up access to abortion — before and after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, eliminating the nationwide right to abortion.

In 2021, the New Mexico Legislature repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring access to abortion even after the Roe v. Wade reversal.

And in 2023, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill that overrides local ordinances aimed at limiting abortion access and enacted a shield law that protects abortion providers from investigations by other states.

In Thursday's opinion, justices said they "strongly admonish” Roosevelt County, in particular, for an ordinance that would have allowed individuals to file lawsuits demanding damages of more than $100,000 for violations of the county's abortion ordinance.

The provision would have created "a private right of action and damages award that is clearly intended to punish protected conduct,” the court said in its opinion.

FILE - The New Mexico Supreme Court Building is seen, Jan. 9, 2023, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File)

FILE - New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez listens to oral arguments dealing with local municipalities implementing ordinances restricting abortion, Dec. 13, 2023 in Santa Fe, N.M. . (Eddie Moore/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, file)