Lacklustre Real Madrid held by Mallorca in LaLiga opener

Real Madrid got their LaLiga title defence off to a limp start as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Mallorca, with Vedat Muriqi’s second-half header cancelling out Rodrygo’s early strike and spoiling Kylian Mbappé’s eagerly awaited debut on Sunday.

Real’s so-called “New Galacticos” with Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior headlining a stellar squad came crashing back to earth with a dreary performance at a raucous Son Moix.

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Real Madrid started well and took the lead thanks to a fine curling strike by Brazilian forward Rodrygo assisted by a back-heeled pass from his countryman Vinicius in the 13th minute.

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However, Mallorca started to create some chances in counter-attacks as a toothless Real grew frustrated, dominating possession but lacking ideas up front.

With Mbappé and Bellingham nowhere to be found, Vinícius was arguably Real’s only weapon against a disciplined Mallorca defence. But the Brazilian ended up losing his cool and was taunted by the local fans every time he touched the ball.

The Son Moix stadium has been a tough place for Vinicius, who in February 2023 was racially abused by the local supporters there.

On Sunday, he had several heated exchanges with rivals and was reprimanded by the referee after staring into the stands as if daring fans to shout at him all the more.

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Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made three fine saves to keep the visitor’s lead, but there was nothing he could do to stop Muriqi’s powerful header from a corner in the 53rd minute that level for the locals.

Vinicius’s struggles and Mallorca’s equaliser frustrated Real thereafter. They only really threatened twice with similar moves by Mbappe, who sprinted up the left channel in counter-attacks but had his angled strikes denied by an inspired Dominik Greif in goal for Mallorca.

Real ended the match with 10-men after defender Ferland Mendy was shown a straight red for a sliding tackle deep into added time.

One day after a depleted Barca fought back to win 2-1 at Valencia despite missing several key starters, a star-studded Real Madrid laboured away to little avail, suggesting they may need to work harder than they thought to fit Mbappe into their squad.

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