Actual Madrid received their LaLiga title defence off to a limp begin as they have been 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.
Actual’s so-called “New Galacticos” with Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior headlining a stellar squad got here crashing again to earth with a dreary efficiency at a raucous Son Moix.
Actual Madrid began nicely and took the lead due to a tremendous curling strike by Brazilian ahead Rodrygo assisted by a back-heeled move from his countryman Vinicius within the thirteenth minute.
Nevertheless, Mallorca began to create some probabilities in counter-attacks as a toothless Actual grew annoyed, dominating possession however missing concepts up entrance.
With Mbappé and Bellingham nowhere to be discovered, Vinícius was arguably Actual’s solely weapon in opposition to a disciplined Mallorca defence. However the Brazilian ended up dropping his cool and was taunted by the native followers each time he touched the ball.
The Son Moix stadium has been a troublesome place for Vinicius, who in February 2023 was racially abused by the native supporters there.
On Sunday, he had a number of heated exchanges with rivals and was reprimanded by the referee after staring into the stands as if daring followers to shout at him all of the extra.
Actual goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made three tremendous saves to maintain the customer’s lead, however there was nothing he might do to cease Muriqi’s highly effective header from a nook within the 53rd minute that stage for the locals.
Vinicius’s struggles and Mallorca’s equaliser annoyed Actual thereafter. They solely actually threatened twice with comparable strikes by Mbappe, who sprinted up the left channel in counter-attacks however had his angled strikes denied by an impressed Dominik Greif in objective for Mallorca.
Actual ended the match with 10-men after defender Ferland Mendy was proven a straight pink for a sliding sort out deep into added time.
In the future after a depleted Barca fought again to win 2-1 at Valencia regardless of lacking a number of key starters, a star-studded Actual Madrid laboured away to little avail, suggesting they could have to work more durable than they thought to suit Mbappe into their squad.