Barcelona showed no signs of rust as they produced a dominant performance away to Mallorca on Sunday night. The visitors stretched their lead at the top to five points, but Madrid can cut the gap back to two with a win against Eibar on Sunday.
All eyes were on the San Moix to see how both sides would get on, with Mallorca involved in a relegation battle and Barca fighting for the title. As expected, the visitors took the lead with just 2 minutes on the clock.
Alba crossed the ball from the left and Vidal rose above everyone to head the ball past Reina in the Mallorca net. Right from the first whistle, Barca were all over their opponents with the next three chances coming for the Catalan side. Mallorca's first chance came in the 21st minute from ex-Barcelona youth team player Kubo which was matched by Ter Stegen.
Kubo then had another couple of chances before Barca doubled their lead. De Jong headed the ball to Messi, who headed to Braithwaite and the Dane let the ball bounce before unleashing a half volley into the roof of the net. His first goal for Barca.
It would be unfair to say that Mallorca didn't have their chances, with Budimir having two shots just before and after the interval, going wide on both occasions. In the 57th minute, Luis Suárez was introduced for his first match since the 9th January after overcoming an injury.
Braithwaite and Araujo should have put Barca further ahead, with Reina making a lovely stop with his foot from the striker's close-range effort, and Araujo hitting the post from yards out when he was presented with an open net. Only he will know how he missed that.
The missed opportunities weren't pounced upon by Mallorca, and Alba put the game out of sight in the 79th minute. He was played through and advanced into the box where he slotted past Reina. A VAR check showed the LB was onside, and what better way to celebrate your 200th La Liga win than with a goal.
Barca weren't done there and in the 93rd minute, Lionel Messi put the cherry on the cake by adding a fourth, with his shot from the centre of the box being deflected into the top corner of the net. Alba almost made it 5 when his shot was saved by the Mallorca keeper.
Mallorca will have to dust themselves down for the match away to Villarreal on Tuesday, Barca entertain Leganés.
June 13, 2020