Barcelona 1 – 0 Mallorca
Barcelona moved 7 points ahead of Real Madrid in the league table after defeating Mallorca.
In the midst of a very busy schedule, coach Hansi Flick opted to rest several key players. Despite this, the team continued to dominate the game, keeping Mallorca under constant pressure. However, finishing was a challenge, with no goals to show for all their efforts. In the second half, Dani Olmo stepped up as the hero to secure the win.
Barcelona won 1-0 in this La Liga match played at home on Tuesday night.
With this win, Barcelona is now 7 points ahead of Real Madrid in the league. However, Real has one game less.
With 76 points from 33 matches (24 wins and 4 draws), Barcelona holds the top spot, while Real Madrid is in second with 69 points from 32 matches.
The dominance of Barcelona in this match was evident in the stats. They controlled 78% of possession and took 40 shots at goal, with 13 of them on target. Mallorca’s goalkeeper, Leo Roman, was instrumental, saving 12 of these attempts. On the other hand, Mallorca failed to get any of their 4 shots on target.
Flick made 7 changes to the lineup from their thrilling 4-3 win over Celta Vigo. For the first time in six months, Ansu Fati started in the first XI, with several key players, including Raphinha, being rested.
Barcelona’s first big opportunity came in the 12th minute. Ferran Torres took a powerful shot from outside the box, but Roman made a diving save. Lamine Yamal’s follow-up shot was also denied by the keeper.
Seven minutes later, Mallorca’s Roman stopped Torres’ shot, and the header from the corner was also saved. Araujo was in a better position but couldn’t capitalize.
In the 27th minute, Yamal sent a brilliant pass to Olmo, but Roman saved the shot again.
Just two minutes later, Gavi’s shot deflected off a Mallorca defender and hit the post. In the next minute, Yamal’s attempt was also saved by Roman, and Araujo missed the follow-up.
In the 31st minute, Eric Garcia’s shot was blocked by Roman’s foot, and Olmo’s follow-up went wide.
In the 41st minute, Mallorca made a remarkable series of defensive blocks, denying Barcelona four shots in just 15 seconds.
Three minutes later, Pedri’s pass sliced through Mallorca’s defense, but Fati couldn’t finish from a tough angle.
In the dying moments of the first half, Mallorca thought they had scored, but the goal was ruled offside.
Barcelona took 24 shots in the first half, 6 of which were on target, but they couldn’t find the back of the net. Mallorca didn’t manage any shots on target during this time.
The breakthrough came early in the second half. In the 46th minute, Barcelona scored the match-winning goal. After receiving a pass from Garcia in the box, Olmo fired a shot that went over a Mallorca defender’s foot and into the net.
In the 50th minute, Fati’s powerful shot was saved by Roman, and five minutes later, Juan Mohica’s free kick led to a header by Antonio Raíyo that missed the post. This was Mallorca’s first shot on target in the match.
In the 79th minute, Yamal missed a golden opportunity after a brilliant pass from Pedri. He found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Roman denied him once again.
In the following minute, Pau Victor’s shot was also saved by Roman. Yamal’s follow-up attempt was once again blocked by the keeper. In the second minute of added time, Victor’s shot was blocked again.
Barcelona held onto possession in the final moments, comfortably seeing out the match and securing a 1-0 victory.
Mallorca remains in 7th place with 44 points from 33 matches.
