Barcelona’s Winning Streak Ends with 2-2 Draw at Mallorca in Spanish League

 Mallorca's players react at the end of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Barcelona at the Son Moix stadium in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP)
Mallorca's players react at the end of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Barcelona at the Son Moix stadium in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP)
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Barcelona’s Winning Streak Ends with 2-2 Draw at Mallorca in Spanish League

 Mallorca's players react at the end of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Barcelona at the Son Moix stadium in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP)
Mallorca's players react at the end of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Barcelona at the Son Moix stadium in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP)

Barcelona’s five-game winning streak in the Spanish league ended with a 2-2 draw at Mallorca on Tuesday.

Barcelona twice came from behind to salvage the point. It had won five in a row after opening with a draw at Getafe. It also won in its Champions League debut against Antwerp last Tuesday.

The result left the Catalan club in danger of relinquishing the lead when the remaining midweek games are played. It leads Girona by one point and Real Madrid by two points. Girona visits Villarreal on Wednesday, while Madrid hosts promoted Las Palmas.

“We conceded two goals after defensive mistakes and we can’t allow that to happen,” Barcelona coach Xavi said. “It’s a shame, we lost two points because of these mistakes.”

Mallorca, which squandered a few good chances on counterattacks, has just one win so far and is sitting near the relegation zone with six points.

“It was a fair result, we are satisfied,” Mallorca’s Mexican coach Javier Aguirre said. “A victory would have been too much for us today.”

Mallorca was coming off a 5-3 loss at Girona.

The hosts opened the scoring through Vedat Muriqi in the eighth minute before Raphinha equalized in the 41st. Abdon Prats put Mallorca ahead again just before halftime, and Fermin López sealed the draw in the 75th with what was his first league goal for the Catalan club.

Barcelona had a penalty kick awarded in the 66th, but the decision was reversed by video review.

Sevilla wins again

Sevilla scored twice in the first 10 minutes and went on to rout Almeria 5-1 for its second league win of the season.

Youssef En-Nesyri scored in the seventh minute and Dodi Lukebakio in the eighth, then Suso added another in the 38th before Erik Lamela and Kike Salas closed the scoring in the second half.

It was the fifth loss for Almeria, which remains the only team yet to win a match.

Almeria next hosts Granada, while Sevilla visits Barcelona.



Premier League Rejects City Request to Delay Next Season’s Games after Club World Cup

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
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Premier League Rejects City Request to Delay Next Season’s Games after Club World Cup

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)

The Premier League has rejected Manchester City's request to postpone the first two games of the 2025-26 season to help the players recover after their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the US, the club's manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday.

City and Chelsea are the two English clubs who have qualified for the expanded month-long Club World Cup set to start on June 15. The Premier League's season will begin in August.

An increasingly packed football calendar has been a concern among a growing number of players and managers. A report by global players' union FIFPRO said some players get only 12% of the year to rest.

The Premier League did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

City midfielder Rodri said in September that players could be close to strike action over the time they are required to play. A knee ligament injury has since put him out for the season.

"I don’t know if we will play more games than the treble year (2022-23)... maybe we'll play less games," Guardiola told reporters.

"The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery. Thank you so much. They don't postpone these games so that will be the moment of, oh, what do we have to do?"

He said the Club World Cup will make it even more difficult for clubs to manage player workload.