Bitter debut for Mbappé! The Madrid of the "Super Galácticos" crashes in Mallorca (1-1)

Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid kicked off the 2024/25 LaLiga season with a 1-1 draw against Mallorca at Son Moix. The visitors were unable to beat a gritty home team, who with the support of their fans and knowing how to play against the Merengues, came away with a draw that tasted like a victory. The Italian coach's club left serious doubts regarding the connection in the midfield, perhaps missing the great Toni Kroos a little.

For this match, Carlo Ancelotti opted for the same starting eleven that he used to win the European Super Cup last Wednesday. A classic 4-3-3 with an attacking trident between Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr and his new star, Kylian Mbappé, who made his debut in the Spanish league. At Mallorca, Jagoba Arrasate opted for his new signings to face the white club at Son Moix. The Biscayan also decided to start with a 4-3-3, where he was able to create danger for the Merengue team in the initial minutes.

Rodrygo put Real Madrid ahead

Although Mallorca showed signs of danger in the first minutes, where Dani Rodríguez shot at Courtois' goal in the 4th minute, they could not hold back their goal for too long. The first goal of the match came in the 12th minute thanks to Rodrygo. The Brazilian striker, who is rumored to leave for Manchester City this summer, took advantage of a great collective play between Mbappé and Vinicius to score 1-0 with a right-footed shot to the far post.

In the 20th minute, Rüdiger took the ball in the middle of the field and without thinking too much, sent a bomb towards Greif's goal, but the ball went wide of the goal. Mallorca tried to surprise with some chances, but Madrid remained well planted in their defense. Ten minutes later we had a hydration break, where we heard Arrasate ask his players to make sure they kept the score in order to go into the break with the game open.

And so it was, despite a great collective play by the Merengues threatening to make it 2-0 in the 35th minute. Vinicius, Rodrygo, Bellingham and Valverde intervened to put in a cross for Mbappé, who was unable to finish. In the 41st minute, the home team had the clearest chance. A great play by Mojica forced Courtois to repel the shot, but he did not catch the ball and left the ball dead in the six-yard box which Muriqi took advantage of, but the goalkeeper made up for his mistake and kept the ball. In the 47th minute, Mafeo received the first yellow card of the match.

Muriqi equalised and lit up the game

At the start of the second half we did not have any changes on either team. Madrid sought possession to continue dominating the match, with their right flank being the one they used the most, with Valverde and Carvajal trying to get into the opponent's area, although without much success. Therefore, the home team took advantage of the lack of goals from the white club to score the 1-1 tie in the 52nd minute. Dani Rodríguez put in an impeccable cross from the corner kick onto Muriqi's head, sending the ball into the back of the net. The 'pirate' scored his first goal this season in LaLiga, after an error by Rüdiger in marking.

This goal seemed to ignite the 'vermellones', who began to generate danger in the Madrid area, knowing that through the left side and with crosses they could hurt Ancelotti's team. The white team looked lost and imprecise in their lines as the attackers could not connect with the defenders. Mbappé appeared at the start of the 60th minute with a shot that was masterfully stopped by the home keeper. Three minutes later, Luka Modric came on for Tchouameni to try to provide that connection that had been lost.

With almost 30 minutes to go, we were watching a broken game, with the ball going back and forth without a clear dominator and Madrid looking to depend on some individual flash rather than a collective play. In the 69th minute, the team from the white house had two clear chances to score. The first from Mbappé, who will dream of Greif and all his saves tonight and the second from Rodrygo, who failed with his shot.

Mbappé fails to make a difference in his LaLiga debut

By the 75th minute the second hydration break of the match arrived and in the resumption Madrid still could not turn the game around. Mallorca began to narrow lines and close in at the back to try to maintain the result against a team that you cannot let win one. Muriqi had the second goal in the 73rd minute with a great cross into the visiting club's area. Modric also sent a ball towards goal, which was easily stopped by Greif with 10 minutes left.

In the final minutes, Mallorca tried by all means to get the victory. In the 86th minute, Larin broke down the left flank and managed to get past Militao to put a cross into the area that Antonio Sánchez picked up and shot at Courtois' goal, but went wide. Two minutes later, another clear chance came for the home team. It fell again. The ball was passed to Antonio Sánchez in the box, but it went straight out, while Arrasate lamented the missed opportunity.

The referee called for six minutes of added time and Arrasate's men went back to maintain the result at all costs. In the 90+3, Modric sent a shot wide of the area and that was all Ancelotti's team could do, who had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their debut this season in LaLiga. Mendy will miss the second matchday due to a red card received in the 90+7.

Without a doubt, a match where the visiting team failed to find themselves up against a solid defence and a tough team that gave everything until the end and even finished the match leaving a better impression than those from the capital. A bitter debut for Mbappé who had some clear chances, but was unable to be convincing. They will have to recover quickly and bet on the victory against Valladolid on August 25.

Match details: Mallorca 1-1 Real Madrid

• Mallorca: Greif; Maffeo, Raillo, Valjent, Mojica; Samu Costa, Mascarell (José Manuel Arias, m. 90+3), Darder (Manuel Morlanes, m. 72); Dani Rodríguez (Antonio Sánchez, m. 67), Asano (Cyle Larin, m. 72), Muriqi
• Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal (Lucas Vázquez, m. 87), Miliato, Rüdiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni (Modric, min. 63), Bellingham (Arda Güler, min. 88); Rodrygo, Mbappé, Vinicius (Brahim, min. 88)
• Referee: César Soto Grado
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• Incidents: Match corresponding to Matchday 1 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25
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• Goals of the match: 1-0, Rodrygo (min.12); 1-1, Muriqi (min. 52)