Mallorca proves Real Madrid growing pains early on this season
It was an unceremonious start to the 2024/25 LaLiga season for reigning champion Real Madrid. Mallorca managed to hold them to a draw on a sweltering evening at Son Moix stadium. Many would have expected Real Madrid to impose its dominance in light of the stacked squad now wearing the side’s famous white kit. Adding Kylian Mbappe was ostensibly supposed to act as a galvanizing factor in the team.
Contrarily, Mallorca refused to make the evening a walk in the park for Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s players were adept at moving the ball quickly in and around the penalty area. However, it seemed for the most part that the front six were playing a game of ‘pass the parcel.’ Very rarely did any of the front six take on the responsibility early to try to test Dominik Greif in his goal.
Real Madrid was, as expected, dominant in possession. However, at times Mallorca ripped that sense of comfort away from Los Blancos. Mallorca did this by forcing the game state to become transition-based. Real Madrid’s penchant for moving the ball in and around the box often resulted in many of their players not being able to track back with haste. This made it easier for Mallorca to counter-attack.
Mallorca capitalized on Real Madrid being timid in the final third
Much was made of the likelihood that the balance of an Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo front three would initially suffer some growing pains. The game last night encapsulated this struggle. The trio were interchanging positions throughout the game. Interchangeability between attacking players is by no means a bad thing inherently. However, it did seem at times that Real Madrid had three left-wingers on the pitch.
This made for some awkward viewing. The front three at times stepped on each other’s toes by permeating the same zones simultaneously. Usually, a front three is more effective when their movement in and around the box is harder to track. In the case of the Real Madrid front three, Mallorca defenders were more than happy to blockade them in a single zone in the box until they eventually gave up possession.
Real Madrid’s lack of end product was not all doom and gloom. Carlo Ancelotti will have received some good signs from how his attacking players were consistently able to win the small-sided games in the final third. The small-space ability of the front six in and around the box was a definite highlight. Ancelotti will likely have noted this for when Real Madrid plays low-block teams in the future.
Ancelotti will also have been impressed with the increased involvement of Real Madrid’s deeper players in the final third. Real Madrid’s midfield was able to situate itself higher up the pitch for prolonged periods. This was precisely due to Real Madrid’s box dominance. For future games, Real Madrid will have to improve on switching the game plan when flooding the box fails to work. For as comfortable as Real Madrid looked, it proved ineffective against a savvy Mallorca defense.
Real Madrid only came away with a point last night because Mallorca could nullify their box threat with phenomenal box defending. At times Mallorca had practically their whole eleven in their box when it was time to defend. Mallorca’s commitment to the cause meant that they always had an answer for Real Madrid’s penalty area threat.
PHOTOS: IMAGO