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Raphinha scored a brace while Ferran Torres, Frenkie de Jong and Pau Victor scored a goal each to help FC Barcelona return to winning ways in La Liga after three games against Mallorca at the Son Moix Stadium on Tuesday. With this win, Hansi Flick's men extended their lead at the points table to four points.
Torres at the top for Barcelona
After three winless games, Hansi Flick changed his playing eleven for the away fixture. He included Ferran Torres in the most advanced role while benching Robert Lewandowski for the match. Inaki Peña, Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsí, Inigo Martinez, and Alejandro Balde formed the defensive lineup for the Catalan club while Pedri, Marc Casadó, and Dani Olmo were given the responsibility of controlling the midfield.
Captain Raphinha and Lamine Yamal continued as the offensive players for Flick.
Barcelona looked into control from the minute go by trapping the home side offside quite a few times before scoring in the first real opportunity they got. In the 11th minute of the match, Ferran Torres took advantage of a mix-up in defence between Valjent and Mojica and scored the first goal of the night for Barcelona.
Eight minutes later, Torres could have doubled the lead, but Mallorca goalkeeper Leo Roman stopped the Spaniard's efforts from a great ball by Balde.
Yamal and Raphinha ripped through the defence in second half
However, after the goal, the Mallorcan defence tightened up to block countless attacks from the visitors and frustrate them till they found their way back right before the first half. In the 44th minute of the match, Pablo Maffeo got behind the Barcelona defence and found Vedat Muriqi with a great pass. The Kosovan striker did the rest to level the scoreboard.
Right after the second-half break, Barcelona looked at their best with both Lamine Yamal and Raphinha causing a few problems for the opponent's defenders. In the 53rd minute, Olmo found Lamine Yamal inside the box and Mojica fouled the Spaniard to hand Barcelona a penalty. Raphinha stepped up and restored the lead for his team in the 55th minute.
In the 74th minute, Lamine Yamal made a picture-perfect assist from right to find Raphinha in the far post for Barcelona's third goal of the night; his 11 of the season in 16 league games. With the game nearly in the pocket, Flick made a few substitutions and Frenkie de Jong found the net coming off from the bench. He scored Barca's fourth goal from a rebound ball in the 79th minute.
Pau Victor, another sub for the La Liga table topper, rounded off the score line after an interception. With this win, Barcelona returned to winning ways in the Spanish league after three games.
Barcelona are currently leading the league table with 37 points after 16 games while Real Madrid are following them with 33 points after 14 games.