Carlo Ancelotti criticized Real Madrid’s performance after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Mallorca in their LaLiga season opener for 2024-25. The match featured Kylian Mbappé’s debut, who along with Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior contributed to Rodrygo’s opening goal in the 13th minute. However, Vedat Muriqi equalized for Mallorca with a header in the second half.
Ancelotti expressed frustration with his team’s attitude and collective commitment, particularly the lack of balance in the second half. He noted, “We gave away counterattacks and crosses. It wasn’t a good game. We need to defend better and maintain more balance on the pitch.”
Despite winning LaLiga last season, Madrid struggled to secure the victory against Mallorca. Ancelotti emphasized the need to improve their defensive strategy, attributing some of the issues to a lack of synchronization among forwards, midfielders, and defenders.
Mbappé played the full match and took four shots, two of which were on target, but he did not find the net. Following this match, Ancelotti praised Mallorca’s performance, stating that the draw was “the correct result.”
Real Madrid is coming off a victory, having won the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta earlier in the week. They will face Real Valladolid on August 25 and then play against Las Palmas four days later.