Magic Muriqi wins it for Mallorca

Two of the three lowest scorers in La Liga faced each other and, as expected, not many chances were created in the first half. What did happen, however, was a booking for Mallorca’s Nastasic in 18 seconds (is that a record ?). Referee Munuera Montero, who sent Mallorca’s captain Antonio Raillo off in the quarter cup win against Girona a couple of weeks ago, needless to say, was not the most popular figure in the Son Moix, booking five of our players plus he red-carded our club doctor Muñoz Macho. Rayo didn’t receive any cards, and in all honesty they committed far more fouls than Mallorca did.

After a dire first half, when both teams were guilty of giving the ball away far too often, things really had to get better in the second half.

They did, and in the second period Mallorca started in the ascendency, with the opener coming in the 48th minute. Coach Aguirre changed the format to a more attacking 4-4-2, with two strikers, Abdon and Muriqi playing upfront in tandem. Antonio Sanchez bulleted in from close range to make it 1-0. He also scored in the same fixture in Madrid earlier in the season.

For long periods Mallorca’s midfield didn’t exist as the nerves took over. Rayo kept knocking on the door and it came as no surprise when they drew level with a scrappy equaliser. Rayo’s Alvaro Garcia, who was recently timed as the fastest player in La Liga, benefited from a complete mixup in the Mallorca defence to sweep home his sixth of the season, 1-1.

Now it became a real test of nerves, both from the players and especially the fans. As the clock ticked down, it looked to be yet another draw for Mallorca as we couldn’t add that finishing touch.

Then it happened in the 91st minute. A Dani Rodriguez corner was headed home by Muriqi. The crowd went ballistic. The big Kosovan was back and, boy, how we’ve missed him. One wonders where we would have been in La Primera if he hadn’t been injured four months ago.

Just before the end it all kicked off between the two benches after Dani Rodriguez was scythed down by a horror tackle, then had his head stamped on.

Mallorca were terrible in the first half and the game looked like a pre-season kick about, but in the end three points and a win was worth its weight in gold. With Sevilla beating At. Madrid 1-0, Mallorca are now level with the Andalucian side on 23 points, three above Celta Vigo and, more importantly, six above third-bottom Cadiz. Next up is Real Sociedad in the Son Moix next Sunday at 18:30. The San Sebastian side face a tough Champions League game in Paris against PSG on Wednesday night. They may be a bit on the leggy side!

SUMMING UP: Sunday’s game was Mallorca’s first La Liga win of the year in a game that had precious little football but what matters is the result. It’s such a shame we could only get 16,375 in the Son Moix on Sunday night, in a match that was much more important than last Tuesday’s cup semifinal against Real Sociedad, when 22,051 squeezed into Son Moix.