Real Madrid fails to win opener, shares point with Mallorca

Real Madrid played a 1-1 draw against Real Mallorca as their LaLiga title defence started off wrong.

Having taken an early lead, courtesy of Rodrygo’s brilliant strike, Vedat Muriqi’s second-half header denied Madrid the win.

Madrid started well and took the lead in the 13th minute, thanks to a neatly curled strike from Brazilian forward Rodrygo, who was cutely assisted by a backheel pass from compatriot, Vinicius Junior .

However, Muriqi netted a powerful header from a corner in the 53rd minute to level for Mallorca.

The La Liga winner fought hard for a winner but were unlucky to secure the lead in their opening game.

Kylian Mbappe came close twice to restoring Madrid’s lead, first hitting the post, before seeing a low effort saved by Dominik Greif, with Johan Mojica making a fantastic clearance to prevent Rodrygo getting onto the rebound.

The Frenchman who won made his debut for the Los Blancos’ win in the UEFA Super Cup final against Atalanta with a goal, was denied his La Liga debut win and goal.

Meanwhile, Madrid’s Ferland Mendy received a straight red for a rash lunge towards the closing minutes of the game.

The draw means Real Madrid have failed to win their opening game in the league for the first time in six seasons under Carlo Ancelotti, while this is just the sixth time they have started a campaign in the competition with a draw in the 21st century.

Head Coach, Ancelotti, after Real Madrid draw expressed his displeasure, noting that his team lacked ‘balance’ in the game.

He said, “We lacked balance and I am not happy with the draw because we could have done better. We needed more attitude. “We can learn a lot from this game because it seems clear where we could have a problem”.

Mallorca’s striker, Vedat Muriqui, was happy scoring against Madrid, a team he supported even since he was a child.

“Since I was a child I have been following Real Madrid, scoring against them is amazing for me”, Muriqi said.

However, Real Madrid hope to improve and find their rhythm, to defend their La Liga title.

They welcome Real Valladolid for their second league game, while Real Mallorca travels to face Osasuna.