Mallorca 0-1 Barcelona: Robert Lewandowski’s beauty secured all the three points for Xavi’s side tonight.
After the international break, Barcelona’s league campaign resumed on Saturday night at Iberostar Estadi. Mallorca served as both their opponents and hosts that evening. The Catalans had a nine-game winning streak against Mallorca in recent games.
On the night, Xavi Hernandez reshuffled his cards and made adjustments all over the field. He had to make some adjustments due to the injury issue, even though some rotations were made while keeping in mind the busy timetable.
Jordi Alba was used at the opposite full-back position while Alejandro Balde started the game at right-back. Andreas Christensen and Gerard Pique were chosen by Xavi to play together in central defense.
At San Moix, Franck Kessie had a deserving start in place of Pedri, who was off. He shared the midfield with Gavi and Sergio Busquets. Ansu Fati started the game on the left wing, and Robert Lewandowski and Ousmane Dembele made up the rest of the outfield.
When Mallorca’s corner dropped directly to Inigo Ruiz in the 11th minute, the hosts had the game’s first significant opportunity. His shot, though, soared above the bar.
Barcelona gained ground in the game over the following ten minutes. The advantage was one goal for the visitors by the 20th minute.
Unsurprisingly, Lewy scored the first goal for Barcelona. He really did put out a beautiful effort. The Pole was given the ball on the left side of the Mallorca box following some excellent link-up play by Fati. He caught Valjent off guard with a deft pullback before firing a wonderfully timed shot into the bottom corner.
In the 35th minute, Costa received a perfect opportunity to equalize as Sanchez’s cross went into his path just in front of the goal. To preserve his team’s advantage, Marc Andre ter Stegen stepped up and made a close-range save.
In the last seconds of the first half, things were heated. Within five minutes, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Pique, and Franck Kessie were booked for harsh challenges. However, the Catalans entered the locker room having scored one goal and having put up a great performance.
Mallorca started the second half strongly and created two significant opportunities in the first five minutes. However, they blew their opportunity, allowing Barcelona to exhale in relief.
In the 67th minute, Pedri and Raphinha replaced Kessie and Fati.
Even though the visitors continued to control play in the second half, Mallorca remained a threat with their counterattacks. In the 80th minute, Ousmane Dembele and Jordi Alba were replaced by Ferran Torres and Sergi Roberto, respectively.
In the waning moments of the game, Mallorca launched a flurry of late attempts but were unable to get past the Catalan defense. In the 89th minute, Kang In Lee came close to tying the score and had maybe the game’s greatest opportunity.
In the end, Xavi’s team earned their sixth league victory. When they play Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, they will be back in action.
