Mallorca 0-4 Barcelona as it happened: Messi is back...
Mallorca 0-4 Barcelona: as it happened!
That's it from Mallorca. Barcelona raced out to an early lead with Arturo Vidal's headed finish after 2 minutes. Martin Braithwaite scored after 37 minutes, making no mistake on the half volley. Barcelona cruised in the second half for long spells and Jordi Alba put the game to bed after 79 minutes and Messi put a little icing on the cake after providing two assists earlier. He made it 4-0 in injury time. They now sit five points ahead of Real Madrid with 10 games to play. Madrid play tomorrow against Eibar.
Messi strikes. Buries it into the top corner. Suarez fed it to him and Messi did the rest. Mallorca defenders backed off and hoped for the best. Took a slight deflection on the way in.
Rakitic gets hacked by Salva Sevilla. The Mallorca midfielder gets booked for a nasty one.
De Jong replaced by Junior Firpo. Firpo will have to start against Leganes as Alba's yellow earlier rules him out of the game.
Junior Firpo ready to come on.
Alba's goal stands even though the replay showed it might have been offside. Back underway!
GOAL! Messi to Alba, for a change, and the left-back slots it home. Might be offside but for now it stands.
Another break for water. Last 15 minutes or so here at Visit Mallorca Estadi.
Kubo runs forward and into the box. He shoots and it's blocked.
Alba booked for taking Pozo out of it as he steamed past him on the counter.
Semedo off for Roberto. Arthur on for Busquets.
Corner for Mallorca as they try to make a go at this for the last 20 minutes. Ball flicked up to the back post and it's out for another corner on the other side.
Pozo drives a cross across goal and Ter Stegen cradles it.
Messi through to Suarez and he tries to cut back. Tight angle and Manolo Reina did well to stop it. Barcelona manage to win it back and Messi eventually slams it over the bar.
Messi looks like he is limping now. But it looked like he just got a stomp on the foot. He's fine. Might be worth Setien resting him now after scare before the game.
Pique jumped in the air and landed slightly awkwardly. Looked like it might have been his knee he jarred but he looks to be okay now. Game has lost a lot of intensity in the last 10 minutes.
Pique jogging back to his position with a little limp.
Braithwaite almost makes it 3-0. He sends it just wide with the help of a deflection.
Griezmann makes way for Suarez. The long-awaited return of the Uruguayan.
Luis Suárez getting ready to come one.
Griezmann with a ball across the box. Barcelona change the point of attack.
Salva Sevilla crosses into the box and Lago Junior heads tries to get on the end of it. Headed out for a corner.
Lovely move from Mallorca. Take onto Dani Rodriguez and he crosses to Budimir. The striker slams it wide. Lovely, flowing move on the counter.
We are back underway for the second half! Rakitic comes on for Vidal.
HALF-TIME! An interesting half with two goals. Vidal headed Barcelona into the lead after 2 minutes. Braithwaite buried the second and Barça are comfortable.
Pozo with a nice cross onto the head of Budimir and he glances it wide. Nice effort from Mallorca. They have created a few chances to their credit but have been shredded by Barcelona a couple of times too.
A short break for VAR to check the goal. Griezmann kind of threw his shoulder at the ball while it was in the air but it clearly didn't hit his arm. Goal stands!
HE BURIES IT! Braithwaite smashes it home. That was really impressive. Plenty of Barcelona players involved as it comes across from the left and sits up perfect for the Dane.
We are back after some high quality H20.
He can. Sends it low and to the right of the wall. Ter Stegen stoops down and parries. And now it's time for a water break.
And we have a second one shortly after. Take about the strike this one from just outside the area. Can he trouble Ter Stegen?
We have the first foul after 29 minutes as Jordi Alba fouls Alejandro Pozo. It has been quite a fluid game so far.
Mallorca with a nice spell of possession. Nothing doing for them yet but they are, slowly, getting to grips with Barcelona.
Kubo with the effort and he forces a save from Ter Stegen. Lovely run and cuts onto his left before curling it, almost, beyond Ter Stegen. The German turns it around the post.
Messi again finds Sergi Roberto. Mallorca having some problems on that side of the field.
Mallorca attack and it's Kubo whose shoulders it lands on to send it in. Blocked and sent out for a corner.
Barcelona break through again. Sergi Roberto crosses and it's cleared by Mallorca. Messi gets it again on the right and it's sent up into the air again. Mallorca survive another scare. Barcelona looking dangerous every single time they attack.
Messi plays it through to Griezmann. He could pull the trigger but instead pulls it back to Messi. The Argentine rifles over the bar and it's out for another corner.
A decent spell from Mallorca, relatively speaking, before Barcelona get back on the ball and try to plan an attack. De Jong sends it out to Roberto and he crosses. Messi clips it towards the back post and that's out for a corner.
Chance now for Kubo. He tries to poke one into the middle but Barcelona swarm him and win it back.
Messi is playing central. Braithwaite out on the left and Griezmann on the right. Very interesting from Setien's side on their return to action.
All Barcelona so far. Ball sent in to Braithwaite and he sends it wide. He absolutely battered it wide, wants a corner but ref says no.
One minute and eight seconds on the clock and Barcelona lead. Arturo Vidal. Kubo coughs it up under pressure from De Jong and he sends it to Vidal, who scored. That was very quick.
We are underway!
A minute's silence for all of those who lost their lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
Really nice photo of the Visit Mallorca Estadi. We are almost ready for action!
LaLiga is officially back! We are midway through the first gameweek. It's going to be an incredibly hectic month and the LaLiga title race is very open for either Barcelona or Real Madrid depending on how they start. Here's a look at the most important games in the next months and the games that could decide the title race.
In an interview with Kubo during lockdown, we asked Kubo about his feelings towards Barcelona, his former club, and it's obvious he is extremely grateful for the chance they offered him.
When you were young, you played with Barcelona. Now do you feel like a Madridista?
"First, I have to say I am very grateful to Barcelona and also FC Tokyo who took me in after the sanction, to Yokohoma Marinos, who loaned me for half a season and now Mallorca. Also, all of the players managers and the people who helped me grow and helped me to be who I am. When I reached the right age, I had a massive chance to pick a team and I picked Real Madrid because of their interest in me. I am very grateful. And now I am very Madridista."
Kubo starts for Mallorca against his former club.
Araujo starts for Barcelona despite Umtiti being in the squad. Lenglet is suspended. Interesting to see how the 20-year-old does. His first outing, a short one, didn't go so well.
Barcelona XI: No Suárez
Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Araujo, Jordi Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Arturo Vidal; Messi, Griezmann, Braithwaite.
All eyes on LaLiga tonight! Don't forget you can watch for free in the UK.
Messi is raring to go. A lot has happened in the last few months. Barcelona players were dragged through the mud with reports suggesting they wouldn't take a pay cut. The Argentine came out and denied those claims and said they were simply trying to find the perfect formula to help the club and the most vulnerable employees of the club. Now he says he is ready to just get back on the field and kick a football. We can't wait for that!
What to expect from Luis Suárez under Quique Setién
Quique Setién has never had a striker like Luis Suárez. What can we expect from the Uruguayan under his new coach. Barcelona's number nine has stopped pressing as high up the field but maybe Setién will relight the fire in Suárez' belly and force him to put defenders under pressure. It's too early to say but watching how that works out is one of the most fascinating storylines to watch on LaLiga's return.
We don't have team news yet but Quique Setien said that Suàrez and Messi are ready for action tonight from the start. Suárez is coming back from knee surgery and Messi has gotten over a muscle injury suffered on his return to training.
Hello and welcome to Mallorca vs Barcelona as both sides restart their 2019-20 campaign
The venue tonight is Son Moix but Mallorca have changed the name of their stadium. Visit Mallorca Estadi is the new name of the stadium as the island tries to reignite its tourism after a terrible few months. “It is our contribution to the recovery of normality, the image and the economy of all the island’s sectors,” the club said.
The return of LaLiga certainly makes things feel like normal and having a LaLiga title race will keep us busy for the next few weeks! The first chapter of that title race starts tonight. Real Madrid play Eibar tomorrow night and we will bring you live coverage of that too so stay tuned for what will be a busy month of action.