Actual Madrid have been pegged again of their opening fixture of the 2024/25 La Liga season as Mallorca confirmed resilience to earn a 1-1 draw on Sunday evening.
Los Blancos went forward when Rodrygo discovered the far nook with a exact strike, however some statuesque defending allowed Vedat Muriqi to energy dwelling a header and equalise.
Madrid got here on robust late within the second half however their illustrious batch of first-teamers could not discover the decisive purpose.
How the sport unfolded
Carlo Ancelotti gave Madrid followers one other probability to see their star-studded ahead line of Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe and VInicius Junior in motion with Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde behind them in midfield, nevertheless it was Mallorca who introduced the primary save out of a goalkeeper at both finish.
Samu Costa minimize in from the wing and curled in the direction of purpose, forcing Thibaut Courtois to flick the ball over the crossbar.
Every of Los Blancos’ attacking trio started to indicate their distinctive skillsets earlier than the opening purpose arrived within the thirteenth minute. Vinicius burst in the direction of the field and back-heeled into Rodrygo’s path, permitting him to bend an effort brilliantly into the far nook.
The hosts blew an opportunity to get again on stage phrases shortly after going behind, however Johan Mojica’s low cross evaded each Muriqi and Takuma Asano and dribbled out for a throw-in.
A few of Madrid‘s link-up play involving the likes of Bellingham, Valverde and Vinicius was divine, however a scarcity of clear goalscoring alternatives prevented the guests from extending their lead whereas Mallorca confirmed their intent to equalise with out success earlier than the half-time whistle.
Nevertheless, Madrid’s superstars have been rapidly dealt a setback as Jagoba Arrasate’s aspect hit again inside ten minutes of the restart.
It was a purpose startlingly easy in nature, with Daniel Rodriguez’s hanging nook met powerfully by Muriqi. The massive Kosovo worldwide leapt excessive above Antonio Rudiger and planted his header previous Courtois’ attain, sending the house followers into raptures.
Mbape quickly skipped his solution to the byline however could not pick a goal earlier than bringing Dominik Greif into motion with the same run, seeing his shot properly smothered on the close to put up.
Luka Modric entered the motion with slightly over an hour performed as Ancelotti shuffled his pack looking for a response to Mallorca’s equaliser. Mbappe examined Greif once more and Rodrygo appeared sure to faucet within the rebound, just for Mojica to reach first and clear the hazard.
Mallorca might need taken a shock lead late on when Antonio Sanchez blazed over after the ball dropped kindly for him, although it might need been disallowed for offside regardless.
In the long run no winner arrived for both staff and as an alternative Ferland Mendy let his frustration get the higher of him with a excessive and wild lunge leading to his dismissal, forcing Madrid to start their title defence with a single level.
GK: Thibaut Courtois – 7/10 – Essential early cease saved the sport goalless. Was put beneath strain however responded with the composure anticipated of probably the greatest goalkeepers on the planet.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 6/10 – Was usually combative however did not at all times look comfy towards the difficult Rodriguez.
CB: Eder Militao – 5/10 – May have asserted himself extra like Rudiger however was smart in possession, not often giving the ball away.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 6/10 – Obtained his leap flawed as Muriqi equalised. In any other case led properly on the again within the face of some severe Mallorca strain at factors.
LB: Ferland Mendy – 4/10 – Made some nice restoration runs, denying Muriqi a gilt-edged probability to present Mallorca the lead when he got here out of nowhere to move the hazard away. Unnecessarily bought himself despatched off late on with a horrible problem.
CM: Federico Valverde – 6/10 – Did properly to mop up free possession steadily, exhibiting his typical dogged spirit with out being completely dominant in midfield.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 6/10 – Has very massive tempo-setting boots to step into after Toni Kroos’ retirement and did not handle to manage play the best way he would have needed.
CM: Jude Bellingham – 6/10 – Performed some probing passes and pulled out some good flicks however could not summon a lot magic within the closing third.
RW: Rodrygo – 8/10 – Mixed properly with Vinicius and belted in Madrid’s opener beautifully. That purpose gave him confidence and he might need bought a couple of extra on one other day.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 7/10 – Confirmed his tempo through the opening 45 minutes however issues did not fairly fall into place for the Frenchman.
LW: Vinicius Junior – 7/10 – Sensible flick again to Rodrygo helped his compatriot open the scoring. Confirmed his ordinary intent to dribble ahead however misplaced possession fairly frequently.
Substitutes
SUB: Luka Modric (63′ for Tchouameni) – 6/10 – Helped Madrid management proceedings extra comfortably late on.
SUB: Lucas Vazquez (88′ for Carvajal) – N/A
SUB: Brahim Diaz (88′ for Vinicius) – N/A
SUB: Arda Guler (88′ for Bellingham) – N/A
Subs not used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Fran Gonzalez, Francisco Garcia, Jacobo Ramon, Jesus Vallejo, Dani Ceballos, Endrick.
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