Madrid, Aug 17: Barcelona began the defense of its La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 win at Mallorca, scoring early and taking advantage of two first-half red cards for the host.
Raphinha and Lamine 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.Some Mallorca players stopped playing after teammate Antonio Raíllo went down, but the referee allowed play to continue. Mallorca immediately complained after Ferran scored.
“The ball hit my head and I got dizzy. I tried to get up and I couldn’t. The referee should have stopped the game,” Raíllo said. “After that, everything was harder and the game got out of control.” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he understood why Mallorca was upset with how the goal developed.
“Maybe I would not be happy,” Flick said. “But in the end I always say to my team, Until the referee stops the match you have to continue.’” Raíllo noted that Torres said he shot the ball only because he thought the game was stopping.
Mallorca coach Jagoba Arrasate said it should be protocol to immediately stop play if someone gets hit in the head like what happened to Raíllo.“The fourth official told the referee to stop the game, I don’t know why he didn’t,” Arrasate said. “Then there were the red cards, and there was no more match after that. With nine players it was impossible.” (AP)
