Real Mallorca 1-1 Real Madrid: Mbappe´s LaLiga debut ends all square

Real Madrid’s LaLiga title defence got off to a limp start as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Mallorca.

Vedat Muriqi’s second-half header for the home side cancelled out Rodrygo’s early strike and denied Kylian Mbappe a win on his domestic debut.

Madrid started well and took the lead thanks to a fine curling strike by Brazilian forward Rodrygo, who was cutely assisted by a backheel pass from compatriot Vinicius Junior in the 13th minute.

However, Muriqi netted a powerful header from a corner in the 53rd minute to level for Mallorca, who had gone close when Thibaut Courtois fumbled a shot before the break.

Mbappe twice went close to restoring Madrid’s lead, first hitting the post from a tight angle before seeing a low effort saved by Dominik Greif, with Johan Mojica making a fantastic clearance to prevent Rodrygo getting onto the rebound.

Madrid’s frustrations boiled over just before full-time – defender Ferland Mendy shown a straight red for a rash lunge.

1 – Real Madrid have failed to win their first game of a @LaLigaEN season for the first time in six seasons under Carlo Ancelotti, being also the sixth time they have started a campaign in the competition with a draw in the 21st century.

Stuck. pic.twitter.com/QRDq79GeSH

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) August 18, 2024

Data Debrief: Ancelotti’s run ends

Madrid have failed to win their opening game of a LaLiga season for the first time in six seasons under Carlo Ancelotti, while this is just the sixth time they have started a campaign in the competition with a draw in the 21st century.

Rodrygo grabbed the champions’ first goal of the season. He now has 50 LaLiga goal contributions (27 goals, 23 assists) in 143 matches, having also netted Los Blancos’ first league strike last term.