Barcelona labor but get back to winning ways against Mallorca

Raphina scored a brace as Barcelona broke their three-game winless streak with a 4-1 win away to Real Mallorca.

The final score line flattered the Catalan side as the first half was equally disputed between the two sides.

Barcelona took the lead in the 12th minute as some confusion by the Mallorca defense saw an attempted clearance hit off one of the defender before falling to the feet of Ferran Torres. Torres, who was making his first start since coming back from injury, struck the ball awkwardly, ping-ponging off the defenders before hitting the back of the net.

The goal seemed to revitalize Mallorca who weren't deterred despite being down a goal. Barcelona had opportunities to double thier lead but poor finishing and decision making left Mallorca off the hook.

Those misses came back to haunt Barcelona as Muriqi equalized in the 43rd minute, beating Barcelona's offside trap. Raphinha had a chance to give Barcelona the lead before the final whistle as he was through one-on-one against the keeper but saw his shot saved.

But the Brazilian gave Barcelona the lead, converting a penalty after Lamine Yamal was brought down by Johan Mojica.

Down by only one, Mallorca continued playing their game with the confidence they could replicate what they did in the opening half.

It would take some time for Barcelona to put some breathing room between them and the home side but it came in the 74th minute as Raphinha poked in a precise outside-of-the-boot pass from Yamal. With that breathing room, Barcelona took advantage of a now tired and dejected Mallorca side.

Frenkie de Jong scored the fourth Barcelona goal as the ball was left near the penalty spot after a clearance attempt. The goal should serve as something positive for the Dutchman who has been the subject of criticism practically throughout the entire season.

Pau Victor put a bow on the proceedings as he was on the receiving end of a pass from De Jong. All Victor had to do was stick his foot out to make clean contact.

With the win, Barcelona are once again four points in front of Real Madrid. However, it still isn't where Hansi Flick nor the players want to be. Again, it was more trouble than the final score line suggests.

The press isn't where it needs to be as Mallorca were able to take advantage of that press and beat the offside trap. But it was a win the club needed to regain some of that confidence lost in the last three games.

Some of the positives Flick will take from the match is the performance from the substitutes. Victor and De Jong scored and he was able to rest Robert Lewandowski.

Things won't get any easier for Barcelona as they now travel to Sevilla to take on Real Betis on Saturday.