Ratings of players such as La Liga champions are participating to be drawn

Real Madrid were put back in their opening game of the 2024/25 La Liga season as Mallorca showed resilience to draw 1-1 on Sunday night.

Los Blancos went ahead when Rodrygo found the far corner with an accurate strike, but some brilliant defending allowed Vedat Muriqi to power home an equaliser.

Madrid came on strong towards the end of the second half but their excellent first team squad could not find the decisive goal.

How the game happened

Carlo Ancelotti gave Madrid fans another chance to see their star-studded forward line of Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior in action with Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde behind them in midfield, but it was Mallorca who pulled off the first save. he has a goalkeeper on both sides.

Samu Costa cut down the wing and bent towards goal, forcing Thibaut Courtois to fire the ball over the crossbar.

Each of Los Blancos' attacking trio began to show their unique abilities before the opening goal arrived in the 13th minute. Vinicius burst into the box and back into Rodrygo's path, allowing him to curl an effort into the far corner.

The hosts had a chance to get back on level terms shortly after the break, but Johan Mojica's low ball was blocked by Muriqi and Takuma Asano and kicked wide.

Some of Madrid's attacking play featuring the likes of Bellingham, Valverde and Vinicius was high, but a lack of clear-cut scoring chances prevented the visitors from extending their lead while Mallorca showed their intent to equalize without success before the half-time whistle.

However, the stars of Madrid soon faced a challenge as Jagoba Arrasate's went back within ten minutes of the restart.

It was an incredibly easy goal in nature, where Daniel Rodriguez's cross was met by Muriqi's power. The Kosovo international rose above Antonio Rudiger and planted his header past Courtois' reach, sending the home fans into raptures.

Mbape quickly made his way to the line but couldn't pick out the goal before bringing Dominik Greif into the game with a similar run, seeing his shot well blocked at the near post.

Luka Modric came into action after just over an hour as Ancelotti rummaged through his pocket for an answer to Mallorca's equaliser. Mbappe again checked Greif and Rodrygo looked certain to grab the rebound, only for Mojica to get there first and clear the danger.

Mallorca might have taken a shock lead late on when Antonio Sanchez was fired up after losing the ball, even if it had not been ruled out for offside.

In the end there was no winner for either team and instead Ferland Mendy let his frustration get the better of him with a thrashing that resulted in his dismissal, forcing Madrid to start their title defense with a single point.

GK: Thibaut Courtois – 7/10 – A key stop early on kept the game goalless. He was put under pressure but responded with the composure expected of one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

RB: Dani Carvajal – 6/10 – It was a fight but they didn't look comfortable against the tricky Rodriguez.

CB: Eder Militao – 5/10 – He could prove himself like Rudiger but he was smart with the ball, rarely giving the ball away.

CB: Antonio Rudiger – 6/10 – He jumped well when Muriqi equalized. Apart from that, it took a good lead at the back when it faced a lot of pressure from Mallorca for points.

LB: Ferland Mendy – 4/10 – He made some good runs to save, denying Muriqi a solid chance to give Mallorca the lead when he came out of nowhere to clear the danger. Unnecessarily he found himself sent off late in a very bad challenge.

CM: Federico Valverde – 6/10 – Did well to pick up loose ends regularly, showing his dogged spirit without completely dominating the midfield.

CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 6/10 – He has very big tempo-setting boots to step into after the retirement of Toni Kroos and he couldn't control the play the way he wanted.

CM: Jude Bellingham – 6/10 – Played probing passes and produced some good plays but couldn't summon much magic in the final third.

RW: Rodrygo – 8/10 – Combined well with Vinicius and belted the Madrid balcony admirably. That goal gave him confidence and he may score a few more one day.

ST: Kylian Mbappe – 7/10 – He showed his speed in the first 45 minutes but things did not go well for the Frenchman.

LW: Vinicius Junior – 7/10 – Smart flick back to Rodrygo to help his compatriot open the scoring. He showed his usual intent to drive forward but lost possession regularly.

What you are holding

SUB: Luka Modric (63' for Tchouameni) – 6/10 – Helped Madrid comfortably control the lead late on.

SUB: Lucas Vazquez (88' for Carvajal) – N/A

SUB: Brahim Diaz (88' for Vinicius) – N/A

SUB: Arda Guler (88' Bellingham) – N/A

Subs used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Fran Gonzalez, Francisco Garcia, Jacobo Ramon, Jesus Vallejo, Dani Ceballos, Endrick.

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