Mallorca vs Barcelona Review
Barcelona began their title defense with a 3-0 win against Mallorca at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, marking their eighth straight away victory and extending manager Jagoba Arrasate’s personal losing streak against the Catalans to nine games. From the start, Barcelona took control of the attack and opened the scoring in the seventh minute after sustained pressure, when Lamine Yamal delivered an excellent cross that an unmarked Raphinha headed in at the far post.
Mallorca responded with determination, trying to equalize, and Joan García saved a weak shot from Vedat Muriqi. However, the visitors scored a controversial second goal, despite a Mallorca player lying on the ground after clearing a header, Barcelona continued playing, and Ferran Torres finished with a beautiful shot into the top corner. The shock throughout Estadi Mallorca Son Moix was evident, and Manu Morlanes’ red card in the 33rd minute made Mallorca’s task even tougher. Some home supporters began heading for the exits as the hosts’ disastrous first half worsened just six minutes later when Muriqi was sent off for kicking García in the face.
It could have easily been a ‘10 vs 9’ situation earlier when Raphinha harshly fouled Mateu Morey in the seventh minute of injury time, but he only received a yellow card for the foul, which sparked loud protests as the teams left the field at halftime. Unsurprisingly, the second half quickly turned into a battle of attack versus defense, with Yamal continuing to trouble his markers by delivering two quick crosses that nearly led to a third goal for the visitors. Soon after, a brilliant one-handed save by Leo Román kept Barça from scoring just before the hour mark, and although Raphinha’s curled low shot beat him shortly after, it narrowly missed the target.
In a rare chance for the home team to reduce the deficit, Johan Mojica’s free-kick in the 65th minute deserved a finish, but no Mallorca player took a risk on such a precise delivery. To prevent any unlikely Mallorca comeback, Hansi Flick waited just two more minutes before giving Marcus Rashford his competitive debut for Barcelona, bringing him on alongside Gavi and Jofre Torrents. Demonstrating their greater squad depth, Barcelona kept pressing forward, with Dani Olmo hitting the post and Raphinha missing a near-identical opportunity to one he had minutes earlier.
Pedri also tried his luck late in the game with a powerful shot, but it was Yamal who sealed the third goal in injury time, capping off his man-of-the-match performance. In his signature style, the young player cut inside and unleashed a curling left-footed shot that left Román grasping at air. Ultimately, Barcelona cruised to their 14th win in 17 opening day matches (with 2 draws and 1 loss), while Mallorca suffered their first opening day defeat in 10 seasons.
