It is Kylian Mbappe’s first game with Real Madrid without a goal. After Rodrygo’s early goal was cancelled out by Vedat Muriqi’s header in the second half, Real Madrid’s much-anticipated LaLiga title defence was held to a 1-1 draw at Mallorca, ruining Kylian Mbappe’s much-awaited home debut.

Rodrygo’s exquisite curling goal in the 13th minute gave Real Madrid the lead, and Vinicius Jr.’s back-heeled pass helped make it happen. But as Real grew irritated, Mallorca started to open up cоunterattack opportunities, dominating possession but short on ideas up front.

Key additions to Real Madrid’s “New Galacticos” roster, Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, were mainly ineffectual; the only real threаt to a well-drilled Mallorca defensive was Vinicius Jr. Referees reprimanded Vinicius after he reacted to taunts from local fans, who had previously racially harassed him in February 2023. Vinicius had several heated encounters with competitors.

In the 53rd minute, Muriqi’s strong header from a corner tied the score for Mallorca, despite many vital saves by Real custodian Thibaut Courtois to keep the lead intact. Real Madrid was unable to take back the lead despite Mbappe’s late efforts, which included two angled shots that Mallorca custodian Dominik Greif stopped. After defender Ferland Mendy was shown a straight red card for a sliding tackle far into added time, Real Madrid was reduced to 10 me𝚗 for the remainder of the encounter.

This tie and Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Valencia the day before imply that Real Madrid could have to put in more effort to get Mbappe into their lineup and mount a successful title defence. The team’s first home game of the season is against Valladolid on August 25, and they will be hoping to regroup. After a strong run of preseason games, Carlo Ancelotti and his team would want to do better in front of their home supporters.