FC Barcelona starts the new La Liga season with their first victory over RCD Mallorca

August 18, 2025 | Josephine Berger

Last season’s La Liga champions are back to defend their title, with FC Barcelona achieving their first win against RCD Mallorca in their first game of the new season. With Mallorca given two red cards in the first half of the game, the second half consisted of only 9 players on the Mallorcan side.

FC Barcelona’s starting XI: Joan Garcia, Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, and Ferran Torres.

RCD Mallorca’s starting XI: Leo Roman, Mateu Morey, Martin Valjent, Antonio Raillo, Johan Mojica, Manu Morlanes, Antonio Sanchez, Takuma Asano, Pablo Torre, Sergi Darder, and Vedat Muriqi.

Raphinha scores the first goal of the game with a stunning header with an assist from Lamine Yamal, as the two show Barcelona’s strength and determination for this new season’s outcomes. The second goal, deemed quite controversial, was scored by Ferran Torres after Mallorca’s Antonio Raillo hit a header on the field but then quickly dropped on the pitch. Because the ref did not blow the whistle at that time, the play continued, giving Ferran a window to score in the 23rd minute of the game.

The first red card was given in the 33rd minute to Mallorca’s Manu Morales after delivering a nasty tackle to Lamine Yamal. The second red card was handed to Vedat Muriqi in the 39th minute after he kicked goalie Joan Garcia on the side of the head, and it was replayed and reviewed.

New Englishman transfer Marcus Rashford from Manchester United was subbed on in the 69th minute, making his first official La Liga debut.

While Mallorca put up a great 9-man defense in the second half, Lamine Yamal was finally able to break through in the 94th minute with an amazing last-minute goal, giving Barcelona a 3-0 victory to start off the 2025/2026 season. Yamal shows off a new celebration, putting an invisible crown on his head, sending a message to football fans that he is determined to be one of the best youngsters in the sport of football.