MADRID (AP) — Barcelona began the defense of its La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 win at Mallorca, scoring early and taking advantage of two first-half red cards for the host on Saturday.
Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, who led Barcelona’s prolific attack last season, needed only seven minutes to impress again. Yamal’s curling cross found Raphinha by the far post and the Brazil forward headed in from close range.
Ferran Torres’ shot from outside the area in the 23rd was a goal that drew complaints by Mallorca because one of its players was on the ground after being hit by the ball in the head in the buildup.
Some Mallorca players stopped playing after their teammate went down, but the referee allowed play to continue. Mallorca immediately complained after Ferran scored.
The host went a man down 10 minutes later when Manu Morlanes was sent off for a second yellow card for fouling Yamal on the run. His first yellow was for protesting Barcelona’s second goal.
The second red card in the 39th came from Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi hitting the head of Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García with his left foot while reaching up for a high ball. The referee changed the card from yellow to red after a video review.
Yamal made it 3-0 in second half stoppage time by hitting the top corner.
Barcelona, which won the league last season after scoring 102 goals, was without veteran striker Robert Lewandowski because of an injury. Newly signed forward Marcus Rashford went in as a substitute in the 69th.
New Barcelona goalkeeper
García didn’t have to work much in his Barcelona debut after being signed in the offseason in a transfer from city rival Espanyol.
Regular starting goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is out after undergoing lower back surgery, and García started ahead of Wojciech Szczęsny and Iñaki Peña, who replaced Ter Stegen last season.
Later Saturday, Valencia hosted Real Sociedad and promoted Levante visited Alaves.
On Friday, Rayo Vallecano won at Girona 3-1 and Villarreal defeated promoted Oviedo 2-0.
Atletico Madrid is at Espanyol on Sunday, while Real Madrid hosts Osasuna on Tuesday.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
