Barcelona hosted Mallorca at the Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday evening just days after their Copa del Rey win over Albacete, and did so without Raphinha and Pedri who both missed through injury.
While the visitors did create threats and opportunities at times, the game was largely all Barcelona and was one of their most dominant performances in a long time.
Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the first half, handing the team the lead which they held on to until half-time.
Lamine Yamal then scored the team’s second goal to fortify the three points before Marc Bernal went on to score a great goal out of the blue to make the scoreline more convincing. Notably, the team even maintained a clean sheet on the night.
Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Barcelona 3-0 Mallorca.
Joan Garcia: 8
The goalkeeper did not have a particularly quiet game in terms of making saves, but was called into action on occasion and did well with the routine saves. His distribution, as usual, was spot-on.
Alejandro Balde: 7.5
Balde had less attacking responsibility on the wing against Mallorca, especially with Marcus Rashford taking care of the wide threat on the night.
He occasionally overlapped with the Englishman and looked to combine with him out wide when he ventured forward. Defensively, he did decently and ensured that the opponents did not attack regularly down his flank.
Eric Garcia: 8
Garcia was rock-solid at the back for Barcelona, particularly in the first half when the visitors regularly hit out on the counter through Jan Virgili’s pace. At one point, he single-handedly saved the team a goal with a crucial interception.
His distribution, decision-making and work in maintaining the offside trap were all on point as well.
Pau Cubarsi: 7.5
Cubarsi looked comfortable alongside Garcia once again, making far fewer errors than in recent games. He was sharp with his interceptions, distributions and played out through tight spaces impressively under pressure.
Jules Kounde: 7
The French defender was repeatedly targeted by Mallorca through the first period as they looked to constantly pose threats down the right flank where he was again error-prone.
His game in an attacking sense was impressive with his overlapping runs behind the back and combination with Lamine Yamal once again great. His defensive play, however, was edgy, unreliable, and lazy at times.
Marc Casado: 7
The youngster started in place of Frenkie de Jong who started on the bench through minor discomfort. While he did not dish out a great pioneering show, he was decent with his link-up play and even came close to a goal-scoring volley.
Yet, he left fans with a feeling that he can do much more and that he is still a far way off from last season’s version.
Dani Olmo: 8
Olmo had a good game with his ball circulation, possession retention and attacking transitions and virtually led the team’s midfield in De Jong’s absence. He played slightly deeper in the field and had a vital role in both goals.
He earned the assist for Robert Lewandowski’s opener without putting much effort into it, but also earned the assist for Lamine Yamal’s goal in the second half.
Fermin Lopez: 7.5
Fermin started as Barcelona’s mediapunta on the night and was clinical with his passes, long balls and crosses. Uncharacteristically, however, he could not create much threat running into the spaces in the Mallorca box.
Lamine Yamal: 9
The Ballon d’Or runner-up was again in sublime form for the 77 minutes that he was on the field and came off with a rousing ovation from the stands. He had four shots, one on target and scored a stunning goal from outside the box to double the team’s lead.
Further, he was again the team’s creator-in-chief despite miscuing some passes in the first half. Barcelona’s most important player on the field on the night.
Robert Lewandowski: 8.5
The Polish striker started against Mallorca and did well with his movements off the ball. While he did not add up a whole lot in terms of the buildup, his presence in the box added a constant threat.
Opened the scoring on the night with an immaculately worked goal with ice in his veins, taking the ball into space and striking it past Leo Roman.
Marcus Rashford: 8.5
Rashford was perhaps Barcelona’s most potent threat in the first half as he did not hesitate to cut in and shoot, creating a ruckus in the Mallorca area and bombarding Roman’s goal with powerful strikes.
He also did well providing a wide threat, although his crosses were well defended for the greater part. In fact, the opening goal stemmed off his shot on goal which fell kindly for Lewandowski.
Marc Bernal: 8
Came on as a late substitute and scored a stunning solo goal on the counter, taking defenders out of the equation with immaculate skills and a neat finish past the goalkeeper.
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