Mallorca vs Barcelona Review
Barcelona extended their lead at the top of La Liga to four points after Raphinha scored twice in the second half, leading to a convincing 5-1 win over Mallorca. This marked the Blaugrana’s first victory in four league games. Following a surprising home loss to Las Palmas on Saturday, Barcelona needed to respond positively against a strong Mallorca team. Hansi Flick’s squad came out with determination, and their quick start paid off in the 12th minute when Ferran Torres took advantage of a defensive error to score his second goal of the season.
Encouraged by their recent success, Barcelona maintained control of the match, with Torres having another shot saved by Román and Lamine Yamal missing a good opportunity by shooting wide from inside the box. Despite Barcelona’s dominance, Mallorca posed a danger on the counterattack, and just before halftime, they equalized when Pablo Maffeo selflessly passed to Vedat Muriqi, who scored from close range.
Barcelona came out strong at the beginning of the second half, and after Torres and Raphinha nearly regained the lead, they were awarded a penalty when Johan Mojica fouled Yamal in the box. Raphinha stepped up to take the penalty and calmly placed the ball in the bottom corner, marking his 15th goal of the season across all competitions.
As the final half-hour approached, Raphinha continued to lead Barcelona’s offense, and the visitors rightfully scored a third goal, with Raphinha finishing off Yamal’s impressive trivela pass. With their momentum building, Flick’s team added to their lead with two late goals. First, Frenkie de Jong capitalized on a loose ball to score, and then he assisted Pau Victor for an easy finish, allowing Barcelona to maintain their impressive head-to-head record of 17 matches without a loss (15 wins, 2 draws).
