After a week when the new Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he was also offered jobs with Emma Raducanu and Spurs – but wanted something a bit more secure ! – Real Mallorca reach the business end of season 2025/26 third bottom in La Liga with 11 games left to play. The spectre of the unthinkable relegation scenario looms larger than ever over the Palma side as they face two games which are in the “must-win” category. The first of these so-called “finals” takes place on Sunday afternoon at 2pm in Son Moix when Espanyol are our opponents. They have yet to win a game this year, although they remain in seventh place after a good start to their campaign.
New Argentinian coach Martin Demichelis is in charge of his first home game on Sunday afternoon after a bittersweet 2-2 draw away at Osasuna last Saturday. The majority of the local press were satisfied with the team’s performance in the first half but not with the second when once again we threw away a two-goal lead. With 11 games to play there are 33 points up for grabs with a minimum of 16 needed to reach 40, a number that should mathematically secure a place in top flight Spanish football for the Palma side for a sixth consecutive season.
Our schedule of games from now until May 24 is a little more forgiving than some of the teams also fighting the “dreaded drop” ! That fight appears to have been narrowed down to just four teams : Alaves, Elche, Mallorca and Levante. Barring an unexpected miracle, bottom side Oviedo look doomed.
The priority for Mallorca is to win against Espanyol on Sunday (no pressure there then !) at all costs. We must arrive at Elche’s ground (another team who haven’t won a game this year) on Saturday 21st ahead in the standings. Elche have to visit Real Madrid tomorrow (Saturday).
After the international break (at the end of March) Mallorca have three home games on the agenda Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia. Salvation could well hinge on these home games and we must turn Son Moix into a fortress again.
For Sunday’s game, Mallorca have selection problems. The biggest absentee will be Mallorca’s most dynamic player Jan Virgili, perhaps our only player capable of getting past defenders down the wing. Last Saturday he came on as a second half substitute and after just 10 minutes was shown a straight red card. After dribbling past two defenders, he lost the ball and in the process of trying to win it back, his tackle/lunge was mis-timed and contact looked to be minimal.
The Osasuna player involved in the altercation did the compulsory six roll-overs to exaggerate the incident, then got up and walked away. The match referee was unequivocal and the VAR referee wasn’t consulted. Virgili’s game was over and he’ll now be out until April. Mallorca appealed against the red card, providing video evidence, but the powers that be in Madrid on the referees committee didn’t take any notice.
The fact that Virgili won’t be able to play in two crucial relegation battles is a major blow for Real Mallorca and there’s no doubt we’ve been thrown under a bus. The verdict was excessive and disproportionate, especially considering the incident when Real Madrid’s Ferland Mendy’s brutal tackle on Muriqi in last season’s Mallorca v Real Madrid match was savage and resulted in a mere one-game suspension. The fact that the Osasuna player got up immediately after a few histrionics should have only seen a yellow card brandished.
Other doubts for Sunday’s game are captain Antonio Raillo, who has an abductor muscle problem, and right full back Pablo Maffeo who has a groin injury. It would appear he’s been playing through the pain barrier these past few games.
One Mallorca player, Pablo Torre, seems at last to have found the kind of form that we paid a lot of money for to Barcelona during the Summer. Under our last coach Arrasate, the 22-year-old Cantabrian struggled to find consistency. He stated that he liked to play further forward behind Muriqi as an attacking midfielder. Against Osasuna, Torre at last showed his attacking creativity and had a roving commission in the centre of the pitch.
Vedat Muriqi is (alongside Virgili) one of our indispensable players. So much so that at present he is the second best striker in La Liga and he’s closing in on Samuel Eto’o on the list of Mallorca’s all-time top scorers. With his two goals last Saturday his tally rose to 18. He’s now scored 52 goals in 135 games since he arrived here in 2022. Eto’o netted 54 goals in 133 starts. Us Mallorquinistas hope he keeps banging them in, which should help lift the team out of the relegation zone.
On Sunday he’ll face one of his favourite opponents, Espanyol, having already scored a brace against them last September. In the corresponding fixture last season Muriqi scored twice, the first an own goal, the second a 97th minute penalty in a 2-1 win. Let’s hope he scores more this Sunday afternoon. It would be great if we could get 20,000 for this vital game. Support for the team in their hour of need is non-negotiable in this tense situation. AND FINALLY, I used to play the triangle in a reggae band but I had to leave, it was just one ting after another !