Real Mallorca 2 - Hamburg SV 0
Real Mallorca made a good impression on Saturday night beating newly-promoted Bundesliga side Hamburg SV 2-0 in the 47th City of Palma trophy in front of 11,150 fans. A first half goal from Japanese flying machine Asano and a comical own goal from Hamburg defender Muheim in the second half were enough to give Mallorca a morale-boosting win, with the mighty Barcelona coming to town next Saturday night.
It’s very possible the initial starting XI for Mallorca will be the same that faces Barcelona. However, Samu Costa may be doubtful as he limped off with what looked like a bad knee injury in the seventh minute.
The Germans took no prisoners in this game and some of their tackling was “well tasty” to put it mildly! Their skulduggery saw their defender Torunarigha shown a straight red for a scything tackle on a Mallorca defender near the end.
For Mallorca, new signing Pablo Torre looks quality in midfield and goalkeeper Leo Roman made several stunning reflex saves.
Our squad looks thinly stretched and if some key players are injured we’ll struggle. We need a top quality centre back, a left winger and if, as expected, Costa leaves, a replacement midfielder. Mallorca end their pre-season on a positive note with the side still in the rebuilding stages in what is going to be a formidable start to the new season.