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La Liga: Barcelona begin title defence with 3-0 win over nine-man Mallorca

Barcelona begin their La Liga title defence with a 3-0 win over nine-man Mallorca in a chaotic contest at Estadi de Son Moix.

Raphinha opened the scoring after just seven minutes, heading in a cross from Lamine Yamal.

Ferran Torres doubled the lead midway through the first half, capitalising on confusion as Mallorca’s players stopped play with Antonio Raillo injured in the box.

Manu Morlanes was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession, and Mallorca were reduced to nine men before half-time when Vedat Muriqi was dismissed following a VAR review for a high boot on Eric Garcia.

Barcelona pressed for a third after the interval, with Dani Olmo and Raphinha both going close, before Yamal sealed the win deep into stoppage time with a curling effort.

Debutant Marcus Rashford had minimal impact after he was introduced in the second half, confirming his La Liga registration earlier reported by gistreel.com.

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La Liga: Rashford registration confirmed as Barcelona name star for opener

Barcelona have named Marcus Rashford in their matchday squad for Saturday’s La Liga opener against Mallorca, after registration confirmed.

Although the Manchester United loanee is still awaiting final registration clearance, Rashford’s paperwork are expected to be done before the kick-off of their game.

The Catalan club managed to register goalkeeper Joan Garcia on Friday, with head coach Hansi Flick remaining optimistic the England international will be cleared in time, with the forward badly needed in Robert Lewandowski’s absence.

Barcelona are relying on additional funds raised from the sale of a 50% sell-on clause for former player Francisco Trincao to finalise the process.

Alongside Rashford and Garcia, Flick has also included four La Masia graduates in the travelling squad – Jofre Torrents, Guillermo Fernandez, Dro and Toni Fernandez.