Mallorca Archives

Barcelona beat Mallorca to extend La Liga lead

Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal scored as Barcelona eased to a comfortable 3-0 win over Mallorca on Saturday to move four points clear at the top of La Liga.

The champions extended the gap to Real Madrid in second before Alvaro Arbeloa’s side visit Valencia on Sunday, with Marc Bernal also on target late on at the partially reopened Camp Nou stadium.

Barcelona’s first-half display was sluggish, even though Lewandowski’s goal had them ahead at the break.

“I was not happy… we were not on our level, the playing and passing were too slow,” admitted Flick, who demanded more from his side going forward.

“The first half was not how Barca wanted to play, (but) the second half was much better.”

Mallorca target man Vedat Muriqi came close early on as he slid in at the back post but hit the side netting, while Jan Virgili’s shot was saved by Joan Garcia.

Marcus Rashford added some urgency to Barca’s game after a listless start, curling inches wide of the far post after cutting in from the left.

A blocked shot from the England international led to the opener, with Dani Olmo knocking the rebound to Lewandowski to finish from close range.

Rashford’s dangerous free-kick was tipped onto the bar by Mallorca stopper Leo Roman, and Yamal missed from point-blank range as Jules Kounde sent the rebound into his path.

The 18-year-old made amends in the second half with a superb shot from outside the area, which left Roman with no chance.

It was his fourth goal in four games, with Yamal in his best form of the season.

“He kept his energy for the second half and the goal. Lamine is fantastic,” said Flick.

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Midfielder Marc Casado struck the crossbar with a deflected effort as Barca could have opened up a wider lead.

At the other end, Garcia earned his clean sheet with a good save to thwart Antonio Sanchez, before Bernal rounded off Barca’s victory.

The 18-year-old midfielder broke in behind the Mallorca defence, showed composure to open up a shooting angle and finished with the aid of a deflection, his first goal for the club.

Bernal broke into the first team at the start of last season, but a severe knee injury in August 2024 kept him out for around a year and delayed his progress.

“It’s a great joy for him, when a player has such a bad injury, we all feel it, we suffer with him… I’m very happy for him,” Casado told Movistar.

Bernal, who usually plays at the base of the midfield, admitted scoring for the first time for the club was an emotional moment after his injury struggle.

“When I scored, I thought a lot about how tough the last year was for me, so it’s really satisfying, for my family too, I thought of them too,” said Bernal.

Flick handed 19-year-old midfielder Tommy Marques his debut late on, as another youngster from the club’s feted La Masia academy made the jump to the first team.

“His technique is unbelievable, his body language is top,” said Flick, adding that the Spaniard may be able to start playing regularly for Barca next season.

In the late match, Real Sociedad moved up a place to eighth, just four points behind Real Betis in fifth, after a 3-1 win at home to Elche.

Earlier on Saturday, La Liga postponed Rayo Vallecano’s home match against Real Oviedo because of the condition of the pitch at Madrid’s Vallecas stadium.

They later moved Sevilla’s home game against Girona, scheduled for a 1730 GMT slot on Saturday, to Sunday because of adverse weather conditions.

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Tchouameni helps Real Madrid see off Mallorca to stay on title course

PALMA: Aurelien Tchouameni scored a long-range goal to help Real Madrid secure a 1-0 victory over Mallorca in their La Liga 2023-24 match at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Saturday.

The victory helped Real Madrid to stay eight points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga points table ahead of the upcoming El Clasico.

The France midfielder, who is suspended for the second leg of Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final away to Manchester City next week, scored three minutes into the second half with a deflected 25-metre drive.

Jude Bellingham rattled the crossbar in the first half with a rasping effort from just outside the area as coach Carlo Ancelotti reshuffled his attack with Wednesday’s trip to England in mind, leaving out Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.

Tchouameni’s third goal of the season put Real Madrid ahead, with Brahim Diaz denied a second by the legs of Mallorca goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic and Fede Valverde’s attempt cleared off the line.

Vinicius appeared off the bench for the last 30 minutes but Rodrygo and Toni Kroos were unused substitutes after a thrilling 3-3 draw with Manchester City in Tuesday’s first leg.

Sergi Darder’s spectacular dipping shot forced a flying stop from Andriy Lunin as Madrid extended their unbeaten league run to 25 games, keeping Barcelona a safe distance behind ahead of next week’s Clasico in the Spanish capital.

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“It’s a very important victory, which brings us closer to the title. We’re on a good run and now we’re going to think about Wednesday, that we have time to recover well and try to do our best,” said Ancelotti.

“Having an advantage before (next) Sunday’s game is very important and that was the goal.”

Copa del Rey runners-up Mallorca stay in 15th, six points above the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Barcelona, who are desperately trying to force their way back into the title race, matched Madrid’s result with a 1-0 win of their own at third-bottom Cadiz.

Joao Felix’s clever overhead late in the first half secured the points as coach Xavi Hernandez made sweeping changes to the team that beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

The Portugal international led the attack in the absence of the suspended Robert Lewandowski, acrobatically hooking in the only goal after a Cadiz defender’s looping header from a corner fell directly to him.

Fermin Lopez had an effort scrambled off the line and Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s sprawling save to claw away a Diadie Samassekou piledriver preserved a sixth successive clean sheet in the league for the visitors.

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Athletic Club egde Mallorca in Copa del Rey final to end 40-year trophy drought

SEVILLA: Athletic Club ended a 40-year wait to win the Copa del Rey by beating Real Mallorca in the final on penalties 4-2 on Saturday following a 1-1 draw after extra time here at La Cartuja stadium.

The Basque side lifted the Copa del Rey trophy for the 24th time, behind only 31-time winners Barcelona, as they edged underdogs Mallorca.

Dani Rodriguez sent Mallorca ahead in the first half but Oihan Sancet levelled soon after the break and the sides could not be separated until penalties.

Athletic goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala saved Manu Morlanes’ penalty and Mallorca’s Nemanja Radonjic lashed another spot kick over the bar, with Athletic converting all four of theirs to triumph.

Alex Berenguer stroked home the winning penalty to spark wild celebrations among the hordes of travelling Basque support.

Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic, defeated in their six previous appearances in the final, brought an era almost to a close with a hard-fought win.

Having beaten Barcelona and Atletico Madrid en route to the final, Los Leones were able to secure the club’s first major trophy since a domestic league and cup double in 1984.

“This is incredible, we’ve made history,” man-of-the-match Nico Williams told TVE.

“The team worked hard, the fans are always with us and they deserve it, I’ve dreamed of this for a long time.”

Athletic Club, whose players celebrated on a boat known as the ‘Gabarra’ after they last won it, will now get the chance to launch the barge once again next week.

“I’m so excited (for that), I am so happy, this is the club of my life,” added the Spanish winger, who taunted Mallorca with his dribbling all night.

Mallorca, winners in 2003, had started the stronger and target man Vedat Muriqi’s long-range effort was tipped over uncertainly by Agirrezabala.

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In the final for the fourth time, the islanders took the lead after 21 minutes through Rodriguez’s perfectly placed finish.

After Giovanni Gonzalez’s shot was blocked and Jose Copete’s effort was saved, Rodriguez carefully placed the ball into the top corner, past Athletic’s Dani Vivian on the line.

When Los Leones did create anything it came from the outstanding Nico Williams, and he slotted home after 39 minutes but was offside.

Yuri Berchiche blocked well to deny Copete as Mallorca had a sight of goal for their second before Nico Williams fired into the side netting after breaking into the area.

Agirrezabala thwarted Canada international Cyle Larin early in the second half before Athletic found the equaliser.

Again Nico Williams was heavily involved, sliding a pass into the box for Sancet to gleefully stroke beyond Mallorca goalkeeper Dominik Greif to delight Athletic’s raucous travelling support.

A brilliant dribble by Nico Williams almost helped the Basques take the lead but his cross flashed through his brother Inaki Williams’ legs, with the Ghana international unable to react in time to finish.

Greif beat away a Vivian piledriver late on and Gorka Guruzeta headed narrowly wide, but the teams could not be split before extra time.

Nico Williams had a shot from close range brilliantly deflected wide by the lunging Pablo Maffeo after 111 minutes.

At the other end, Agirrezabala was alert to shovel away Muriqi’s header, with the Kosovo striker sporting a large bandage after a painful clash of heads with Unai Gomez.

What followed in the shoot-out was more painful still for Muriqi, who converted his penalty but his team-mates could not follow suit.

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Amath strike gives Mallorca first win in seven LaLiga games

VIGO: Amath Ndiaye scored a first-half winner to give Mallorca a thrilling 1-0 win at Celta Vigo and ended his side’s winless streak in six straight LaLiga matches on Monday.

The win lifted Mallorca to 11th place in the standings with 37 points, one ahead of 12th-place Vigo. Barcelona lead the table with a comfortable advantage of 11 points over second-placed Real Madrid

Mallorca broke the deadlock in the 21st minute through Amath and then barred the home side from finding an equalizer. Vigo, on the other hand, were cut short to 10 men after Hugo Mallo’s sent off in the additional time.

With the victory, Mallorca also ended their seven-match winless streak in away matches, a run that started before the FIFA World Cup last year.

Celta Vigo next face Real Madrid on Sunday before Mallorca take on Getafe on the same day.

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