Soccer

Real Madrid held to a draw by Mallorca on Kylian Mbappe’s LaLiga debut

Rodrygo had put Los Blancos ahead after 13 minutes before Vedat Muriqi headed in an equaliser.

Kylian Mbappe could not find the winning goal as Real Madrid had to settle for a point at Mallorca (Francisco Ubilla/AP)
Kylian Mbappe could not find the winning goal as Real Madrid had to settle for a point at Mallorca (Francisco Ubilla/AP) (Francisco Ubilla/AP)
By PA Sport Staff

Kylian Mbappe’s Real Madrid LaLiga debut ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw at Mallorca.

Rodrygo had put Los Blancos ahead after 13 minutes, cutting back inside the penalty area to drill the ball into the top right corner of the net.

Mallorca, though, equalised early in the second half when Kosovo frontman Vedat Muriqi powered in a header from a corner.

Mbappe – who marked his first appearance for Real following a free transfer move from Paris St Germain with a goal in the European Super Cup success over Atalanta – had an angled shot saved by Mallorca goalkeeper Dominik Greif at the near post.

Antonio Sanchez then almost won it late on for Mallorca, but his scuffed effort drifted just wide before Real Madrid finished with 10 men following a red card for Ferland Mendy after a poor challenge on Muriqi.

Rayo Vallecano had earlier battled to a shock 2-1 win at Real Sociedad.

The visitors – who only just survived last season – went ahead in 67th minute through a fierce drive from Jorge de Frutos.

Substitute Sergio Camello knocked in a late second ahead of a consolation in stoppage time from Martin Zubimendi, who was a summer transfer target for Liverpool.

In Serie A, Antonio Conte’s first league game as new Napoli boss ended with a 3-0 defeat at Hellas Verona.

The Partenopei lost Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia late in the first half because of a dizzy spell following a knock to the head, and they fell behind when Dailon Livramento scored from close range five minutes after the restart.

Substitute Daniel Mosquera, making his Serie A debut, struck twice in the closing stages to complete a miserable afternoon for Conte, who had seen his side scrape past Modena in the Copa Italia on penalties last weekend.

Lazio recovered from going behind early on to beat promoted Venezia 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico and give new boss Marco Baroni the perfect start, while Cagliari held Roma to a goalless draw at Unipol Domus.

Bologna – having qualified for the Champions League under former manager Thiago Motta, who left to take over at Juventus – opened their league campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Udinese.

In Ligue 1, promoted Auxerre made a winning return to the top flight as a stoppage-time goal from substitute Lasso Coulibaly secured a 2-1 win over Nice.

Angers, runners-up in Ligue 2 last season, were beaten 1-0 at home by Lens and Rennes were 3-0 winners over Lyon in Saturday’s evening kick-off at Roazhon Park.

Elsewhere, Montpellier were held to a 1-1 draw by Strasbourg, while it finished goalless between Toulouse and Nantes.