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Barcelona opened up a four-point lead at the top of LaLiga as Raphinha’s second-half brace helped secure an impressive 5-1 victory over Mallorca - a first win in four league matches for the Blaugrana.
Having fallen to a shock home defeat against Las Palmas on Saturday, Barcelona knew a positive response was needed against an in-form Mallorca side. Hansi Flick’s men looked determined to prove a point in the early stages and their fast start was rewarded in the 12th minute when Ferran Torres capitalized on a defensive mix-up to bundle an effort beyond Leo Roman for his second goal of the season.
Buoyed by the breakthrough, Barcelona continued to stamp their authority on proceedings, with Torres seeing another strike thwarted by Roman and Lamine Yamal firing wastefully wide when well-placed in the box. Despite the visitors’ dominance, Mallorca remained a threat at the other end and Jagoba Arrasate’s side drew level shortly before the break when Pablo Maffeo unselfishly squared the ball for Vedat Muriqi to tap home from close range.
Barcelona came flying out the blocks at the start of the second half, and after Torres and Raphinha came close to restoring their lead, the visitors were awarded a penalty as Johan Mojica fouled Yamal in the area. Raphinha assumed the responsibility from the spot and swept the ball into the bottom corner for his 15th goal of the campaign across all competitions.
The Brazilian continued to spearhead Barcelona’s attack with time ticking into the final half-hour and a deserved third duly arrived for the visitors, with Raphinha applying the finishing touch to Yamal’s spectacular trivela delivery. Armed with all the momentum, Flick’s side added further gloss to the scoreline with two goals in the closing stages.
First, Frenkie de Jong found himself in the right place at the right time to power home a loose ball before the Dutchman turned provider for Pau Victor’s simple finish, as Barcelona extended their dominant H2H record to 17 matches unbeaten (W15, D2).
