What To Expect From Real Mallorca In Matchday 1
The new LaLiga season is finally upon us and Manuel Pellegrini and Real Betis will be chomping at the bit to pick up exactly where they left off last year.
First up is a trip to the Balearics to take on newly-promoted Real Mallorca, who possess a very different threat to the Vicente Moreno iteration we saw in the 2019/20 season.
What should we expect tactically from this very different Mallorca side on their return to LaLiga?
Luis García Plaza has firmly been a 4-2-3-1 man throughout his time with Mallorca.
Last season it was usually Salva Sevilla and Ruiz de Galaretta in those two holding/pivote spots. However, in LaLiga they would be fairly vulnerable as a pair, being better suited to the playmaking side of the game.
In the final pre-season friendly he tweaked the shape to a 4-1-4-1 with Salva Sevilla & Galarreta playing further up, Baba (who barely played last season through form and injury) sat behind as LaLiga fans will have been accustomed to under Vicente Moreno two seasons ago. This meant that Dani Rodríguez was pushed out to the left rather than just behind the frontman. Vicente Moreno also employed this tactic, with little positive effect in LaLiga two years prior so hopefully, we aren’t going to see more of the same.
The team like to play the ball on the floor, going through Sevilla & Ruiz de Galaretta with the full-backs pushing on and the wide man coming into more central areas in the final third.
- What about the transfer activity so far this summer?
So far so good but with much to add. We’ve added youth and quality in what initially appears to be a backup goalkeeper but one who can push Manolo Reina for the number one spot in Dominik Grief.
Our two weakest positions in LaLiga last time were right and left-back, the source of many goals in a season where we conceded the most in the league. Luis García Plaza has Pablo Maffeo on loan, he was with Huesca last season and has picked up the experience of Jaume Costa at left back. From only just 45 minutes in the final friendly at Son Moix it is clear to see that he will bring character and leadership to the squad.
Ángel has arrived from Getafe which is welcomed but the club needs to do some serious business in the wide forward area and centre forward area. Take Kubo has now also rejoined the club to occupy the wide forward or number ten slot.
Daniel Sturridge has been training in the gym to get fit and will have a trial but his fitness issues having not played for over a year mean that he has only had one training session with the team before being sent back to the gym. He has not been registered and remains a free agent.
- How different is this team now to the Vicente Moreno side we saw in 2019/20?
Luis García very quickly took the team with the worst defence in LaLiga and turned them into the side with the best defence in Europe (up until around November time 2020) with just the change of 1 player in the back 5. He is tactically astute, uses his squad well, has his side better than before on set pieces in defence and attack.
The side is better at full-back and through central midfield, currently not as good in the wide positions due to injuries to two of the key wide men (Amath Ndiaye and Antonio Sánchez) from the promotion season, but Take Kubo’s arrival certainly helps that. Vicente Moreno had Budimir and that is the biggest single difference between the sides. Going into the Betis game Mallorca have Abdon Prats, a good Segunda striker who has improved since his last spell in LaLiga but last time out he drew a blank, including missing a penalty.
- Who is the key danger man for Real Mallorca and what kind of problems could he cause for Real Betis?
The biggest threat will be a Salva Sevilla set piece or perhaps Dani Rodriguez. Whether he plays left, right, or centrally, he is like a terrier and will not allow the defence a moment of peace in and out of possession. He is a player who makes every 60/40 against a 60/40 in his favour through his pace and tenacity. If he is playing well then Mallorca will play well. He arrives late into the box on crosses, plays clever one-twos to unlock the defence and will be a pest for the entire 90 minutes.
Certainly then, we’re in for a very interesting 90 minutes. Real Betis will be without new right-back Youssouf Sabaly after sustaining an injury in pre-season, but has held on to key players like Guido Rodriguez, Sergio Canales and Nabil Fekir – Manuel Pellegrini will have plenty of options as he sets up his first competitive XI of the season.
The new LaLiga season is finally upon us and Manuel Pellegrini and Real Betis will be chomping at the bit to pick up exactly where they left off last year.
First up is a trip to the Balearics to take on newly-promoted Real Mallorca, who possess a very different threat to the Vicente Moreno iteration we saw in the 2019/20 season.
What should we expect tactically from this very different Mallorca side on their return to LaLiga?
Luis García Plaza has firmly been a 4-2-3-1 man throughout his time with Mallorca.
Last season it was usually Salva Sevilla and Ruiz de Galaretta in those two holding/pivote spots. However, in LaLiga they would be fairly vulnerable as a pair, being better suited to the playmaking side of the game.
In the final pre-season friendly he tweaked the shape to a 4-1-4-1 with Salva Sevilla & Galarreta playing further up, Baba (who barely played last season through form and injury) sat behind as LaLiga fans will have been accustomed to under Vicente Moreno two seasons ago. This meant that Dani Rodríguez was pushed out to the left rather than just behind the frontman. Vicente Moreno also employed this tactic, with little positive effect in LaLiga two years prior so hopefully, we aren’t going to see more of the same.
The team like to play the ball on the floor, going through Sevilla & Ruiz de Galaretta with the full-backs pushing on and the wide man coming into more central areas in the final third.
- What about the transfer activity so far this summer?
So far so good but with much to add. We’ve added youth and quality in what initially appears to be a backup goalkeeper but one who can push Manolo Reina for the number one spot in Dominik Grief.
Our two weakest positions in LaLiga last time were right and left-back, the source of many goals in a season where we conceded the most in the league. Luis García Plaza has Pablo Maffeo on loan, he was with Huesca last season and has picked up the experience of Jaume Costa at left back. From only just 45 minutes in the final friendly at Son Moix it is clear to see that he will bring character and leadership to the squad.
Ángel has arrived from Getafe which is welcomed but the club needs to do some serious business in the wide forward area and centre forward area. Take Kubo has now also rejoined the club to occupy the wide forward or number ten slot.
Daniel Sturridge has been training in the gym to get fit and will have a trial but his fitness issues having not played for over a year mean that he has only had one training session with the team before being sent back to the gym. He has not been registered and remains a free agent.
- How different is this team now to the Vicente Moreno side we saw in 2019/20?
Luis García very quickly took the team with the worst defence in LaLiga and turned them into the side with the best defence in Europe (up until around November time 2020) with just the change of 1 player in the back 5. He is tactically astute, uses his squad well, has his side better than before on set pieces in defence and attack.
The side is better at full-back and through central midfield, currently not as good in the wide positions due to injuries to two of the key wide men (Amath Ndiaye and Antonio Sánchez) from the promotion season, but Take Kubo’s arrival certainly helps that. Vicente Moreno had Budimir and that is the biggest single difference between the sides. Going into the Betis game Mallorca have Abdon Prats, a good Segunda striker who has improved since his last spell in LaLiga but last time out he drew a blank, including missing a penalty.
- Who is the key danger man for Real Mallorca and what kind of problems could he cause for Real Betis?
The biggest threat will be a Salva Sevilla set piece or perhaps Dani Rodriguez. Whether he plays left, right, or centrally, he is like a terrier and will not allow the defence a moment of peace in and out of possession. He is a player who makes every 60/40 against a 60/40 in his favour through his pace and tenacity. If he is playing well then Mallorca will play well. He arrives late into the box on crosses, plays clever one-twos to unlock the defence and will be a pest for the entire 90 minutes.
Certainly then, we’re in for a very interesting 90 minutes. Real Betis will be without new right-back Youssouf Sabaly after sustaining an injury in pre-season, but has held on to key players like Guido Rodriguez, Sergio Canales and Nabil Fekir – Manuel Pellegrini will have plenty of options as he sets up his first competitive XI of the season.
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