Madrid won in Son Moix with a rebound goal in a match that was torture, with their minds set on next week in Manchester and where Ancelotti had a team loaded with substitutes and without gunpowder up front, with Vinícius and Rodrygo on the bench and with an unprecedented front line formed by Brahim and Joselu. After a very bad first half, Madrid found victory in a shot by Tchouaméni that was poisoned when Morlanes deflected it and misled his goalkeeper at the beginning of the second half.
The match was played at a pre-season pace, which was great for Mallorca, who don’t exactly like fast-paced football. Javier Aguirre’s team, which had just lost the Cup final, found itself in its element, retreating back and dedicated to short-circuiting the rival in the center of the field, where many people gathered. Madrid, managed by Modric, did not have the slightest depth and football developed outside the areas.
In the entire first half there were only two chances. The first was from Mallorca, in a corner kick in which Raíllo anticipated Nacho and his header was saved by Lunin. The reply came soon, in the 32nd minute. Bellingham took a ball near the front of the area, looked for a shooting angle and fired a shot that surpassed Rajkovic’s stretch and crashed into the crossbar when Son Moix already feared the worst. .
The second half began without a change of players, but with a little more dynamism in Madrid. Bellingham, after three minutes, already had the first shot repelled by the vermilion goalkeeper. Seconds later the first goal would arrive, with some luck. Tchouaméni, a player who spends very little on offensive functions, finished from outside the area, the ball tripped over Morlanes, changed direction and lodged in Rajkovic’s squad. The Frenchman celebrated by playing the goalkeeper. Morlanes has the black one. The former Espanyol footballer was the first from Mallorca to fail in the penalty shootout that gave Athletic the Cup title in La Cartuja last Saturday.
Madrid improved as a result of the goal. He began to do damage by entering the rival area through walls. Brahim stood up to Rajkovic, but the Serbian goalkeeper blocked his shot with a great save.
Javier Aguirre had to move a piece, as he saw that the game was going away. The Mexican prepared a triple substitution at the hour mark to lift his team. Morlanes, Antonio Sánchez and Samú Costa left and Abdón Prats, Mascarell and another former Spanish player, Darder, entered. When Abdón Prats’ name was sung, Son Moix dedicated the afternoon’s ovation to him.
After another wasted chance by Brahim Ancelotti, he also reacted by moving the tree and one of the changes was quite strange: he removed Bellingham, who did not quite set the tone he gave in the first round of the League. Camavinga came out through English. The other substitution was logical: Brahim left the field for Vinícius, received with a phenomenal whistle in memory of his previous disputes over these payments with Raíllo.
Vinícius brought out his speed and edge from the first moment and Mallorca began to suffer on that side. Madrid could have killed the game in the 71st minute in a great collective play with many touches in the area and in an incomprehensible way Valverde missed a called goal that Nastasic avoided on the line. Then Darder was able to tie with a long shot that Lunin stopped well.
Vinícius had another chance, but the game ended in suspense because in the last action Lunin failed with a ball thrown into the area but Muriqi missed the shot.
