Barcelona begins title defense with victory over Mallorca

▲ Barcelona's youth star, Lamine Yamal, started the tournament with a good rhythm and contributed a goal in the Catalans' 3-0 rout of the Mallorcan team. Photo @FCBarcelona

Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 17, 2025, p. a11

Madrid. Barcelona began their defense of their Spanish league title with a comfortable 3-0 victory in Mallorca, after scoring early and taking advantage of two red cards for the home side in the first half.

Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, who spearheaded Barcelona's prolific attack last season, needed just seven minutes to impress again. Yamal found Raphinha with a curling cross near the far post, and the Brazilian striker headed in from just wide.

Ferran Torres' shot from outside the area in the 23rd minute led to a goal that prompted complaints from Mallorca because one of their players was on the ground after being hit in the head by the ball in the previous play.

Some Mallorca players stopped playing after their teammate Antonio Raíllo went down, but referee José Luis Munuera Montero allowed the match to continue. Mallorca complained immediately after Ferran scored.

“The ball hits my head, and 10 seconds have passed. I'm a little dizzy because my first two steps are to get up, and I can't, so I think there's more than enough time to stop it,” Raillo said. “Let him explain. Other plays are stopped in a second, and this one takes 10.”

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said he understood why Mallorca was upset with the way the goal came about.

"I can understand Mallorca's displeasure. If the referee doesn't stop the game, I tell the players they have to keep playing."

According to Raíllo, Torres said he only shot because he thought the game was being stopped. Mallorca coach Jagoba Arrasate pointed out that it should be standard practice to immediately stop play if someone is hit in the head, as Raíllo was.

“The fourth official told Munuera Montero in front of me to stop, that it was a blow to the head. I thought he had blown the whistle, but then I realized he hadn't,” the coach explained. “I was a little freaked out. In the talks, they say you have to be careful with blows to the head. It shocked me a lot. When the ball hits your head, you sometimes feel dizzy. I couldn't believe it when I saw him going towards midfield.”

In German football, Colombian Luis Díaz scored and won a title on his debut for Bayern Munich after a 2-1 victory over Stuttgart in the German Super Cup.

Harry Kane also scored for the Bundesliga champions, who began the campaign by winning the lower-tier trophy. The Briton opened the scoring in the 18th minute when the ball fell kindly to him and he fired inside the left post.

“Starting with a trophy is the most important thing,” Kane said after winning just his second career title. The Bundesliga trophy in May was his first.

In English football, Mexican Raúl Jiménez played 65 minutes in his team's 1-1 draw with Brighton, while his compatriot Édson Álvarez was left on the bench for his club, West Ham,'s 3-0 defeat to Sunderland.