Match Report: FC Barcelona begin the 2025/26 La Liga season with a bang as Hansi Flick and co. cruise over 9-men Mallorca

FC Barcelona start their La Liga campaign in a dominating fashion. (Image credits - FMT, License Details)

FC Barcelona began their La Liga campaign just where they left off last season, as they completely dismantled the 9-man Mallorca 3-0 at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix last night. Star wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal stole the show yet again as the duo proved to be the difference makers for Hansi Flick's side yet again.

New signings Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford made their official debuts for the Catalan giants as well, while the former managed to secure his first clean sheet for his new club. Rashford was brought on late during the match, when the game had already been sealed.

Raphinha opened the scoring for Barça with a superb pass from Lamine Yamal in the 7th minute of the game. Ferran Torres continued his superb form from last season as he struck at the 23rd minute-mark, which was a bit controversial as the home side had assumed that play had been stopped and the referee had blown his whistle just before the ball went in.

The home side completely went into panic mode after conceding two goals as Jagoba Arrasate’s men saw themselves get two consecutive red cards, completely throwing the game away into the La Liga champions' plate.

Barcelona kept dominating possession and creating multiple chances in the second half as well, with Lamine Yamal capping off his sensational performance with an outrageous goal to seal a comfortable victory in injury time.

Controversy in La Liga yet again: Barcelona vs Mallorca unleashed major chaos

FC Barcelona's three-goal victory against Mallorca was full of controversial moments, which took place within the first 45 minutes of the game itself. 

For Barca's second goal, scored by Torres, one of the home side's players went down due to a suspected head injury, but the referee continued the game, which led to the goal. Mallorca claimed that as per the rules, the game should've been stopped for a mandatory check.

Apart from that, questions were also raised about Vedat Muriqi sending off for a high-booted challenge on Barcelona keeper Joan Garcia, which seemed like a genuine red card but left the home side absolutely fuming, as Manu Morlanes had also been sent off just minutes before.

Contrary to what happened with Mallorca, Raphinha was let off the hook for his terrible tackle late in the second half, which also looked like a clear red card offence.

The Brazilian was shown a yellow card in that moment and was cleared after a VAR check as well, which stirred a major outrage in the Mallorca entourage, blaming the inconsistency of the referees while giving decisions, the same as last season.