Tag: Mallorca

No respite as midweek fixtures return in La Liga

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Spanish top tier league clubs will quickly swing into action in matchday 10 on Tuesday after a busy weekend.

The first game will be played on Tuesday night when Sevilla, who appears to be improving since the arrival of Jorge Sampaoli, entertain Valencia.

Valencia are a much more attacking side with Gennaro Gattuso in their dugout and this promises to be an end-to-end affair with plenty of chances.

Valencia were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Elche on Saturday, while Sevilla won away in Mallorca, thanks partly to an exceptional display from goalkeeper Bono.

Athletic Club Bilbao aim to recover from their slightly unfortunate home defeat to Atletico Madrid in their visit to Getafe.

Central defender Yeray Alvarez will miss out with a slight muscle problem, with Dani Vivian replacing him, while Ander Herrera is likely to start after missing the Atletico game due to suspension.

Getafe held on for a 0-0 draw away to Rayo Vallecano on Friday night and have more time to prepare for the game.

Rayo also have more time to prepare before they entertain Atletico Madrid in the Vallecas Stadium. Atletico defended well in Bilbao, with left-back Reinildo producing an outstanding display, but Diego Simeone might rotate his side, with players such as Yannick Carrasco and Matheus Cunha getting a chance.

The remaining seven games are played on Wednesday and Thursday, with Real Madrid visiting Elche on Wednesday night, while Barcelona have a pressure game at home to Villarreal on Thursday.

Lewandoski fires Barcelona to the summit of La Liga standings

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FC Barcelona beat Mallorca 1-0 away to top La Liga standings, thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s 20th minute goal on Saturday.

Lewandowski curled the ball home after receiving a pass from Ansu Fati, who started the game in the Barca attack, while Gerard Pique was also included in defense and Franck Kessie in midfield.

Mallorca had chances to level through Jaume Costa and Vedat Muriqi, and Lee Kang-in saw his effort in injury time saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen as Barca limped to the full-time whistle.

Atletico Madrid produced an assured display to win 2-0 away to Sevilla, who continues to be unable to turn things around at the start of the campaign.

Marcos Llorente scored in the 29th minute after finding space at the edge of the area, and Alvaro Morata ended a good week when he netted the second with just over half an hour to play.

Cadiz produced a disciplined display to hold Villarreal to a 0-0 draw, with the help of some excellent saves from keeper Jeremias Ledesma.

Cadiz had defender Iza Carcelan sent off in the last minute for a foul as Arnaut Danjuma went through on goal, but Dani Parejo hit the resulting free kick into the defensive wall.

Valladolid claimed a much-needed 3-2 win away to Getafe after a very entertaining game.

Sergio Leon’s penalty put Valladolid ahead in the 19th minute, before Borja Mayoral and Damian Suarez turned the game around.

Leon’s second of the game made it 2-2 in the 36th minute and Oscar Plano put the visitors back in front in the 48th minute. Getafe had the chance to level from the penalty spot, but Enes Unal saw his spot kick saved by Valladolid keeper Jordi Masip.

Athletic Club Bilbao continued their excellent start to the season on Friday night with a 4-0 win at home to Almeria that lifts them up to third in the table.

Inaki Williams opened the scoring after heading home a cross from his brother Nico and Oihan Sancet doubled the lead before halftime.

Inaki then returned the favor for Nico to add the third in the second half and Mikel Vesga rounded off the win from the penalty spot.

Xavi optimistic ahead of Mallorca clash despite injuries

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FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez is expecting his men to perform well in Saturday’s visit to Mallorca despite injuries in the squad.

The international break saw Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Memphis Depay and Frenkie De Jong all pick up injuries (long-term ones in the case of Araujo and Depay), while Kounde and De Jong are unlikely to be fit for Saturday.

To make matters worse for Xabi, right back Hector Bellerin suffered a calf injury in training and is also out of action for between two to three weeks.

That means Sergi Roberto is almost certain to start on the right of the Barca defense, although the fact he is recovering from injury means Eric Garcia could be asked to move across from central defense, with Gerard Pique partnering Andreas Christensen at the heart of the back line.

Sergio Busquets, Gavi and Pedri look likely to play in midfield, with Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha in attack, although the fact Barca have a vital Champions League visit to play Inter Milan next week could alter Xavi’s plans, and there is a chance that Ansu Fati could start as he completes his long road back to full fitness.

Franck Kessie could also have his chances in the middle of the park as the coach looks to shuffle his squad.

“The injuries are frustrating, but we have to look ahead. It’s unfortunate, because we were doing well, so this is the moment to show that we have a great squad,” said Xavi in his pre-game press conference.

The Barca coach said he didn’t want to blame anyone for the injuries and pointed out that “Bellerin got injured while with us” before saying he expected a “difficult game” against a rival that is “defensively very strong.”

Mallorca have become a tough and disciplined side under the experienced Javier Aguirre and in striker Vedat Muriqi they have a player who will cause the Barca defense plenty of problems on high balls.

Barca are not a tall side (especially without Araujo) and Muriqi will look to ‘bully’ Garcia at set pieces, which look to be his side’s best chance of scoring.

Luis Garcia named new Mallorca coach

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MADRID, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — Former Getafe and Levante coach Luis Garcia Plaza has been named as the new coach of Mallorca.
Luis Garcia replaces Vicente Moreno, who earlier this week left Mallorca to take over at Espanyol, and his main task will be to compete with Espanyol for one of the two automatic promotion places after both clubs were relegated to the Spanish second division at the end of last season.
The coach, who has also worked in Saudi Arabia and China, where he coached Beijing Renhe, previously enjoyed success after leading Levante to the top flight and maintaining the club in the category, before joining Getafe, where he was also successful.
Former Mirandes coach Andoni Iriola had also been tipped as a candidate for the Mallorca job, but on Thursday he was named as the new coach of Rayo Vallecano and will be another rival in the battle for promotion next season.

 

Vicente Moreno named new Espanyol coach

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MADRID, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) — Espanyol on Tuesday named former Mallorca coach Vicente Moreno as their new first team coach.

Moreno has signed a three-year contract with the Barcelona based outfit, which is owned by Chinese businessman Chen Yansheng and home to Chinese international striker Wu Lei, which should keep him at the club until June 2023.

The 45-year-old has the job of leading Espanyol back to La Liga after a disastrous campaign which saw them relegated to the second division (Liga Smart Bank) with just five wins and 25 points all season.

Although Mallorca were also relegated at the end of the campaign, Moreno did an excellent job with the smallest budget in La Liga and retains his credit after leading the club to successive promotions in his first two campaigns at the helm.

He also has experience in the Liga Smart Bank with Xerez and Gimnastic de Tarragona, who he led from promotion from the Segunda B (third tier) to the second division play-offs.

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