Real Mallorca 3 - Athletic Club 2
Real Mallorca ended their four-game winless run with an action-packed 3-2 win against 10-man Athletic Club in front of a meagre 14,284 fans on Saturday afternoon. There’s no doubt this was Mallorca’s best home performance of a disappointing season as we go into the second half of the 2025/26 campaign. We have to thank goalkeeper Leo Roman and especially hat-trick hero Vedat Muriqi for these three golden points.
Both teams grabbed early goals, with Mallorca going ahead in the 4th minute when Muriqi opened his account. The goal was initiated by Leeds United loanee Mateo Joseph and continued by Sergi Darder, who had his best game for a long, long time and was our metronome in midfield. Three minutes later Bilbao were level when Gorka Guruzeta took advantage of a Mallorca defensive blunder before passing to Unai Gomez who netted the equaliser, 1-1.
For long stretches the visitors dominated proceedings and our defence looked well wobbly, but thankfully Leo Roman in Mallorca’s goal was at his imperious best. Mallorca regained the lead with Mateo Joseph again involved in the build-up. He was felled in the box and rookie referee Guzman Mansilla (who had a terrible game) pointed to the spot. Up stepped Muriqi but Bilbao and Spain’s No. 1 goalkeeper Unai Simon saved his initial shot but Muriqi managed to hammer home the spillage, 2-1. Three minutes later Nico Williams stroked home an absolute beauty and it was game on, 2-2.
In the second half with Mallorca on the back foot, the referee in the 69th minute unexpectedly stopped the game and went to the monitor to review a Bilbao handball in the area which had happened minutes before. VAR took what seemed like an eternity (5 minutes) to come to a decision. It went Mallorca’s way and Muriqi made no mistake from the spot, 3-2, scoring his first hat-trick by a Mallorca player since Dani Guiza in 2008.
That VAR decision incensed Bilbao and they went ballistic. One of their players, Guruzeta, argued with the referee who, showing a red card, told him “Off you pop !”
Bilbao’s bench by now had lost the plot and the referee waved yellow and red cards like confetti. Mallorca held on for a precious win which probably kept their coach Arrasate in his job. We showed a lot of guts as Bilbao pressed for an equaliser and nearly got it in the 100th minute when Roman pulled off a stunning save to give Mallorca three golden points.
SUMMING UP: Once again Mallorca couldn’t hold on to a lead, not once but twice. Bilbao were the best team by far but when they went down to 10 men they lost their momentum. Many clubs especially in Turkey are monitoring Muriqi during this winter transfer window as he reaches 14 goals in the leading scorers table, behind Kylian Mbappe. On Saturday without his all-round performance and the brilliance of goalkeeper Leo Roman, I dread to think where we’d be in La Liga standings. The final whistle restored confidence and underlined Muriqi’s importance in a season where margins remain fine and survival points invaluable. As of Saturday night, this win sees Mallorca climb the table to 14th place on 21 points.
Next up, a daunting trip to Atletico Madrid next Sunday at 2pm.