Barcelona 3-0 Mallorca (16 Aug, 2025) Game Analysis – ESPN (IN)

Barcelona began their LaLiga title defence with a comfortable 3-0 victory over nine-man Mallorca on a night where Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford made his debut for the Catalan club.Goals from Raphinha and Ferran Torres put Barcelona two in front early in the first-half before a stoppage time stunner from Lamine Yamal capped of an impressive night for Barça.A pair of Mallorca red cards for Manu Morlanes and Vedat Muriqi, both before half-time, virtually ended any hopes the home faithful may have had of a Mallorca comeback against the champions.Raphinha and Yamal, who led Barcelona’s prolific attack last season, needed only seven minutes to impress again. Yamal’s curling cross found Raphinha by the far post and the Brazil forward headed in from close range.Ferran Torres’ shot from outside the area in the 23rd was a goal that drew complaints by Mallorca because one of its players was on the ground after being hit by the ball in the head in the buildup.Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesSome Mallorca players stopped playing after their teammate went down, but the referee allowed play to continue. Mallorca immediately complained after Ferran scored.The hosts went a man down 10 minutes later when Morlanes was sent off for a second yellow card for fouling Yamal on the run. His first yellow was for protesting Barcelona’s second goal.The second red card in the 39th came from Mallorca striker Muriqi hitting the head of Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García with his left foot while reaching up for a high ball. The referee changed the card from yellow to red after a video review.Alex Caparros/Getty ImagesYamal made it 3-0 in second half stoppage time by hitting the top corner.Barcelona, who won the league last season after scoring 102 goals, was without veteran striker Robert Lewandowski because of an injury. Newly signed forward Rashford went in as a substitute in the 69th.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.