Marcus Rashford made his competitive debut as Barcelona opened their La Liga title defence with a hard-fought and controversial win over nine-man Mallorca.
Raphinha gave Barça the lead with a header from Lamine Yamal’s superb right-wing cross, before Ferran Torres doubled the advantage, striking home while Mallorca captain Antonio Raíllo was down in the box with a head injury after blocking a Yamal effort.
Midfielder Manu Morlanes, already booked for dissent in the aftermath of that incident, was sent off minutes later after a foul on Yamal earned him a second yellow card. Mallorca’s night worsened when Vedat Muriqi saw his yellow card upgraded to red for a high boot on debutant goalkeeper Joan García following a VAR review.
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Despite their numerical advantage, it took Barcelona until stoppage time to add a third, with Yamal drilling home almost at the final whistle.
Rashford, who joined on a season-long loan from Manchester United, replaced Ferran Torres in the 69th minute, becoming the first Englishman to play a competitive match for Barcelona since Gary Lineker in 1989.
The 27-year-old operated as a centre-forward but did not register a chance. Both Rashford and summer signing García were only cleared to play on the morning of the match after the club resolved registration issues linked to their ongoing financial struggles.
