Barcelona Beat 9-Man Mallorca As Rashford Makes Debut

Marcus Rashford made his debut as Barcelona started their La Liga title defence with a controversial victory over nine-man Mallorca.

Raphinha nodded in the opener following a fine right-wing cross from Lamine Yamal.

Ferran Torres smashed in their second goal, while Mallorca captain Antonio Raillo was lying on the ground in the box with a head injury after blocking a Yamal shot.

Manu Morlanes, who was booked for dissent in the aftermath of that incident, was shown a second yellow card soon after for a foul on Yamal.

Vedat Muriqi was sent off for a high boot on debutant Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia, a decision upgraded from a yellow card after a video assistant referee (VAR) review.

It took Barcelona 60 minutes including stoppage time to score past the nine men, Yamal hammering in their third goal with almost the last kick.

Rashford came on in the 69th minute for his Barcelona debut, becoming the first English player to feature for the first team in a competitive game since Gary Lineker in 1989.

The 27-year-old, on a season-long loan from Manchester United, played as a centre-forward but did not have any chances to score.

Rashford and fellow summer recruit Garcia had only been registered with La Liga on the morning of the game because of Barcelona’s financial issues.