Mallorca vs Real Madrid Review
Although Real Madrid extended their unbeaten streak to 28 matches across all competitions, they could not secure a victory in their opening game of the 2024/25 La Liga season, settling for a 1-1 draw against Mallorca at the Estadi Mallorca San Moix.
Mallorca started strong, with Samú Costa creating chances, including a shot that went wide and another that required a solid save from Thibaut Courtois. However, Real Madrid remained composed and took the lead before the 15-minute mark. Vinícius Júnior set up the goal with a clever backheel pass to Rodrygo, who, despite having work to do, delivered a beautifully curled shot that found the back of the net, beating Dominik Greif.
Madrid aimed to extend their lead, with Mbappé hitting the side netting midway through the first half. However, a mistake by Courtois nearly cost Los Blancos just before halftime. Takuma Asano’s cross-shot seemed harmless, but the Courtois could only deflect it into the path of Vedat Muriqi, who forced Courtois to react quickly to block the follow-up.
Shortly after the second half began, Muriqi scored with a powerful header from a corner taken by Dani Rodríguez, leveling the match. Utilizing Muriqi’s heading ability appeared to be Mallorca’s best strategy for pulling off an upset, and he once again challenged Courtois with another header a few minutes later, but this time the goalkeeper was up to the task. Mbappé could have put his team back in the lead but Greif made a good save on his low shot from distance.
Real Madrid kept pressing forward, but aside from a Luka Modrić shot that Greif deflected, they struggled to create significant chances. Instead, Antonio Sánchez had the best opportunities in the final moments, missing the target twice when he should have scored. Although there was no winning goal, there was a late moment of action when Ferland Mendy received a red card for a reckless tackle on Muriqi. Mallorca will undoubtedly be happier with the outcome than Real Madrid. Ancelotti will hope this result is just a minor setback, while Jagoba Arrasate, in his debut as Mallorca’s manager, clearly has a lot to build on.
