The Catalans returned to the league after three games without a win in the domestic championship. After a first half in which goals were hard to come by, FC Barcelona made Mallorca pay the price in the second half. A 'hand-over' that frees Hansi Flick's pupils from the pressure accumulated in recent games.

Barça came out onto the Son Moix pitch needing to win again. They had already gone three games without adding three and it was necessary to change the dynamic. Casadó returned to the starting line-up after serving his suspension for a double yellow against Las Palmas. Lamine and Olmo were starters, while Lewandowski stayed on the bench to rest. Ferrán was the offensive reference.

Barça were hard-pressed to score in the first half

The start of both teams was very brave. Both teams proposed a vertical and offensive game, which translated into early arrivals. Little by little, the culé dominance began to be noticed, even more so after Ferrán took advantage of a mix-up in the home defence to open the scoring in the 12th minute. Mojica cleared a ball that should have been caught by his goalkeeper, it bounced off Valjent and fell to Torres, who pushed the ball in.

The goal had the opposite effect on the top corner. Mallorca sank, while FC Barcelona gained confidence. However, this scenario changed after the half hour mark. Perhaps due to the desire to increase the difference in the score, Flick's pupils began to be more incisive in attack and take more risks in defence.

The goal for the azulgranas did not come and the chances kept coming. Barça tried up to 7 shots in the first half, of which only 3 were on target. The home side, meanwhile, were running into their rivals' defensive wall or offside (six illegal positions in the first half).

However, just before the break, the match took a turn. The red team managed to tie the game with a shot from Muriqi, after an assist from Maffeo, who received it alone after a bad move by the visiting defence. Raphinha could have immediately broken the tie and scored the 'psychological goal', but he missed a one-on-one with Leo Román, which was well deflected by the Ibizan goalkeeper.

Barcelona's superiority and rout in the second half

FC Barcelona started the second half wanting to break the 1-1. Lamine and Ferrán had two chances shortly after the start, both of them wide. Raphinha also had his own, who fired a dry shot from a free kick on the edge of the box onto the goalkeeper's post, which was well cleared by Leo Román. The long-awaited goal came in the 56th minute, from the eleven-meter mark. Mojica charged and kicked Yamal in the area, so Gil Manzano did not hesitate to point to the penalty. The one in charge of kicking it was Raphael Dias, who sent it to the left side of the home goal with power. This was the Brazilian's tenth goal in LaLiga.

It is difficult to say anything noteworthy about Mallorca. They were suffering in defence and living in an offside position in attack. After the hour mark, the home club had accumulated 10 offside positions. Even this paragraph could also be offside, it would be a sure thing if it had been written by Vedat Muriqi, given his performance in the match.

FC Barcelona overwhelmed their rival in the last 15 minutes. Lamine Yamal filtered a spectacular pass with the outside of the ball into the six-yard box, which was softly finished by Raphinha to make it 1-3. The final blow came in the 79th minute, when De Jong pounced on a loose ball in the box and sent it into the back of the net. However, Pau Víctor joined the party in the 84th minute, finishing off a pass from Frenkie in the six-yard box.

Thus, the team led by Hansi Flick managed to get back on the winning track with a thrashing and fantastic feelings. They became the first team to beat Mallorca by more than one goal. Thus, they have 37 points in LaLiga and remain leaders. While waiting for Real Madrid to play Athletic on Wednesday, Barça takes a breather in the standings.

Match details

  • RCD Mallorca, 1: Leo Román; Maffeo (Morey, min. 78), Valjent, Raillo, Mojica; Samú Costa, Morlanes; Valery (Robert Navarro, min. 67), Antonio Sánchez (Abdón, min. 78), Darder (Dani Rodríguez, min. 67); and Muriqi (Larin, min. 78). 
  • FC Barcelona, 5: Iñaki Peña; Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Balde; Casadó (Eric García, min. 82), Pedri (Gavi, min. 82); Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo (De Jong, min. 72), Raphinha (Fermín, min. 86); and Ferrán Torres (Pau Víctor, min. 72).
  • Goals: 0-1 Ferrán (min. 12). 1-1 Muriqi (min. 43). 1-2 Raphinha (min. 56). 1-3 Raphinha (min. 74). 1-4 De Jong (min. 79). 1-5 Pau Víctor (min. 84).
  • Referee: Gil Manzano (Extremadura Committee). Showed the yellow card to the locals Maffeo, Raillo, Mojica and Abdón and to the culés Pau Cubarsí, Marc Casadó and Pedri.

FC Barcelona's next match will take place on Saturday at 16:15 at the Benito Villamarín, against Real Betis. Follow the news of the culé on FCBN.