Three takeaways from Barcelona 3-0 Mallorca | La Liga MD23 | OneFootball

Barcelona netted three goals and recorded a clean sheet en route to their win over Mallorca last night at the Spotify Camp Nou, extending their lead on top of the table and putting pressure on Real Madrid who have a tricky visit to Mestalla on Sunday.

Robert Lewandowski was the one to open the scoring for the Blaugrana, working a net finish past the goalkeeper with ice in his veins.

The two remaining goals, meanwhile, were candy to the eye as Lamine Yamal thumped the ball from outside the box with an unstoppable effort while Marc Bernal scored a stunning solo goal with a run in the final third.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 3-0 Mallorca.

A clean sheet at last

Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Mallorca last night was their first clean sheet in four games and second in the last seven – numbers that put into perspective how poor their defensive record has been in recent games.

Last night did not see the Catalans dish out a particularly perfect defensive outing either, but the clean sheet is a sign of improvement that cannot be ignored.

Jules Kounde was the one weak link for Barcelona at the back last night, and not for the first time this season. He looked out of position, failed to track back with purpose, and often looked plain lazy to compete for the ball.

Apart from his showing however, the centre-back pairing showed serious signs of promise and it is slowly growing clear that the Pau Cubarsi-Eric Garcia partnership is Barcelona’s best choice duo in the department.

The Spanish pairing showed great understanding of position, good synchrony, and did not allow Mallorca to create any threat building up through the middle. They played the offside trap to perfection and cut down passing channels effectively.

While there is still room to improve, what Flick can take away is that the team’s defensive stability depends a lot on the Garcia-Cubarsi partnership, although other measures have to be taken to curb the threat out wide. 

Rashford’s secret weapon

Rashford was a menace for Mallorca on the wing. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Marcus Rashford may not have got on the scoreboard last night, but his presence on the field created genuine fear in the Mallorca defenders. There was, after all, a fundamental difference in how he approached the game on the night.

Starting in place of the injured Raphinha, Rashford did not hesitate in pulling the trigger last night and regularly looked to cut in and even shoot on goal. He showed a conspicuous improvement in the delivery of his final product, and the result was remarkable.

Through the opening 45 minutes when Mallorca sat in a low block, the Englishman was consistently Barcelona’s most threatening attacking presence and created a ruckus in the opposition area.

He came very close to scoring from distance on two occasions and should have finished with at least a goal or an assist, but what the manager and the player will take away from the game is that his productivity and threat massively increase when he lets himself free.

So far this season, Rashford has held back on launching his vicious strikes and has relied on crosses or counterattacks to create threats. The new, secret weapon may just be what he needs to take his game to the next level.

Valid questions on the refereeing

While Barcelona did get away with all three points comfortably on the night, the refereeing was abysmal yet again and seemingly targeted against the Catalans – as has been the case for a while now.

Flick was booked for questioning the referee’s decisions. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Barcelona have always been a team to side with the officials, understand their complicated situation and not interfere with minor mistakes on the field.

The situation now, however, has gotten to a point where it looks borderline purposeful, and serious questions have to be raised about the inconsistencies in refereeing.

At a time when Real Madrid win almost a penalty in every alternative game with prompt VAR checks and even half-decisions consistently going their way, Barcelona were yet again denied a crystal clear penalty last night when Lamine Yamal was taken down.

The youngster was on a threatening run, heading towards goal and completely inside the penalty area when he was taken down by the defender’s outstretched leg. Neither did the opposition player touch the ball, nor was there any lack of clarity on the contact.

Yet, there was not a sign of life from the VAR room even minutes after the incident, and there is no reasonable explanation as to why the VARs were not doing the job they were installed for.

A second such refereeing error came when Barcelona were preparing for a free-kick and the Mallorca wall stepped close to a foot ahead of the line as stated by the referee and faced no consequences for the same.

Instead, Hansi Flick was shown a yellow card for raising valid concerns on the two incidents above, and one is forced to ask how long Barcelona will suffer from such one-sided arbitration.