Barcelona returned to winning ways in the Spanish league with an impressive 5-1 victory over Mallorca on Tuesday, featuring a standout performance from Raphinha, who scored twice.
In a match that marked Barcelona’s first win in three league outings, Ferran Torres, Frenkie de Jong, and Pau Víctor also found the net, helping the team maintain pressure on league leaders Real Madrid, who are now just four points behind with two games in hand.
Torres opened the scoring in the 12th minute, capitalizing on a defensive mishap by Mallorca. After a failed clearance attempt by a defender, the ball deflected off a teammate, allowing Torres to slot home easily.
Mallorca equalized just before halftime through Vedat Muriqi, who capitalized on a breakaway to score their only shot on target. However, Raphinha restored Barcelona’s lead in the 56th minute with a penalty kick, before adding a second goal in the 74th minute, assisted by Lamine Yamal. Raphinha’s brace brings his tally to 11 goals in 16 league matches this season.
“This is probably my best moment, but I want to do more,” Raphinha remarked. “We knew it was important to win again after three matches in which something was lacking. It wasn’t our best match, but it was important to win.” Yamal also played a crucial role in setting up De Jong’s goal five minutes later, shortly after De Jong had come off the bench. De Jong then assisted Víctor’s goal in the 84th minute.
This victory marks the sixth time this season that Barcelona has scored five or more goals in a match across all competitions, with an impressive goal difference of 48-17 in the league alone.
Barcelona had faced challenges in their previous three league matches, suffering two losses — a 2-1 defeat to Las Palmas at home and a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad — along with a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo after leading 2-0.
The match against Mallorca was rescheduled as both teams prepare for the upcoming Spanish Super Cup in January. Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, the other two clubs in the Super Cup, are set to meet on Wednesday in Bilbao.
Next, Barcelona will visit Real Betis for their league match on Saturday, while Mallorca, currently sitting in sixth place, will face Celta on Friday following two consecutive league victories against Valencia and Las Palmas.
In Copa del Rey action, fourth-division club Barbastro eliminated top-flight Espanyol with a 2-0 victory, while Celta Vigo defeated Salamanca 7-0. Las Palmas triumphed over Europa 2-1, and Valladolid secured a 4-2 win against Ávila.
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