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 house 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 likelihood 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, however 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 shortly 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 large Kosovo worldwide leapt excessive above Antonio Rudiger and planted his header previous Courtois’ attain, sending the house followers into raptures.
Mbape quickly skipped his approach to the byline however could not pick a goal earlier than bringing Dominik Greif into motion with an identical run, seeing his shot effectively smothered on the close to submit.
Luka Modric entered the motion with a bit over an hour performed as Ancelotti shuffled his pack in quest of a response to Mallorca’s equaliser. Mbappe examined Greif once more and Rodrygo regarded 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.
Ultimately no winner arrived for both crew 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 stored the sport goalless. Was put below stress however responded with the composure anticipated of among the best goalkeepers on this planet.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 6/10 – Was usually combative however did not at all times look snug towards the tough 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 – Bought his leap flawed as Muriqi equalised. In any other case led effectively on the again within the face of some critical Mallorca stress at factors.
LB: Ferland Mendy – 4/10 – Made some nice restoration runs, denying Muriqi a gilt-edged likelihood to present Mallorca the lead when he got here out of nowhere to go the hazard away. Unnecessarily obtained himself despatched off late on with a horrible problem.
CM: Federico Valverde – 6/10 – Did effectively to mop up unfastened possession ceaselessly, exhibiting his typical dogged spirit with out being completely dominant in midfield.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 6/10 – Has very giant tempo-setting boots to step into after Toni Kroos’ retirement and did not handle to regulate play the way in which he would have wished.
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 fantastically. That purpose gave him confidence and he might need obtained a number 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 – Good flick again to Rodrygo helped his compatriot open the scoring. Confirmed his standard intent to dribble ahead however misplaced possession fairly repeatedly.
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.
