PALMA, Spain: Kylian Mbappe was left frustrated on his Real Madrid La Liga debut on Sunday as a resilient Real Mallorca held the Spanish and European champions to a 1-1 draw in their title defense opener.
The French superstar was thwarted by Mallorca goalkeeper Dominik Greif and after Rodrygo Goes sent Madrid ahead early on the hosts levelled in the second half through Vedat Muriqi’s towering header.
Madrid’s star-studded side struggled to break down Mallorca, who came closer to winning the game in the final stages at Son Moix stadium.
Los Blancos defender Ferland Mendy was sent off in stoppage time for a high challenge on Muriqi.
“We went ahead, we had chances to score the second, and then in the second half we lacked balance,” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told reporters.
“We conceded counter-attacks, it was not a good game, it was quite a clear game to see that we need to defend better and have better balance on the pitch.”
Ancelotti selected the same starting line-up which defeated Atalanta to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, with Jude Bellingham in midfield behind the Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo attacking line.
Mbappe scored in that victory but the former Paris Saint-Germain forward was unable to celebrate his first match in his new homeland with another goal.
Ancelotti was not impressed with his team’s work-rate.
“We have to do better, with more attitude,” continued the Italian coach.
“This game can serve us to learn a lot from, it’s a game where it was quite clear where we had a problem.
“Mallorca had a very good game in a defensive sense, better than us.”
Mallorca coach Jagoba Arrasate was facing his first match in charge of the Copa del Rey runners-up and could not have asked for a tougher challenge on paper than the reigning champions, bolstered by Mbappe’s arrival.
However, his team rose to the challenge and earned a creditable point.
Madrid, who lost just once last season as they marched convincingly to the title, started quickly and took the lead after a slick combination between their Brazilian forward.
Vinicius rolled the ball backwards for Rodrygo to collect in the area and the winger bent a shot into the far corner, beyond the reach of Greif.
The goalkeeper tipped away another Rodrygo effort and Mbappe sent an effort wide as Madrid stayed on top but could not expand upon their advantage.
Arrasate urged his players to stay in the game until half-time and they duly obliged, shutting down Los Blancos’ array of stars.
Muriqi came close before the break for the hosts and tough-tackling defender Pablo Maffeo was booked for an ugly challenge on Vinicius.
Mallorca levelled early in the second half with burly Kosovo target man Muriqi powering a header home from Dani Rodriguez’s corner.
Greif saved low from Mbappe at his near post and Vinicius lashed over as Ancelotti’s side sought to regain the lead.
Ancelotti sent on veteran Luka Modric, who turns 39 in September, for defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, in search of more fluidity in attack against Mallorca’s bunkered-in defense.
Mbappe came close again but Greif denied him once more and Johan Mojica hacked the rebound to safety before Rodrygo could reach it.
Mallorca stabilized and held their own in the final stages to leave Mbappe disappointed on his league debut.
Madrid’s frustration showed in Mendy’s wild hack at Muriqi which earned him a straight red card.
“I’m so tired but it was worth it, it was so important to get a point against a team like Madrid, maybe the best in the world,” said Muriqi.
“I have to be honest, scoring against Madrid is so beautiful.”
Mbappe and Madrid denied in Mallorca draw
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Mbappe and Madrid denied in Mallorca draw
- Madrid’s star-studded side struggled to break down Mallorca, who came closer to winning the game in the final stages at Son Moix stadium
Mbappe rejects mediation offer in $60m financial dispute with PSG
- Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid this summer on a free transfer, says PSG owes him €55 million ($60 million)
- PSG has argued that it does not owe money to the World Cup winner under an agreement when Mbappe was sidelined ahead of the 2023-24 season
PARIS: Kylian Mbappe is not ready to compromise with Paris Saint-Germain.
The France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the French soccer league’s legal commission on Wednesday in his dispute with his former club over wages and bonuses.
PSG officials and Mbappe’s representatives met in Paris after Mbappe asked the commission to get involved. Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid this summer on a free transfer, says PSG owes him €55 million ($60 million).
In a statement to The Associated Press, Mbappe’s representatives said the player asked the commission to take note of the non-payment of three months’ salary and the last third of a loyalty bonus.
“The eventuality of a mediation was mentioned this morning,” the statement read. “This possibility was rejected during the meeting by the player’s representative. A mediation would be useless to record a lack of payment that would be seen from a simple analysis of the player’s payslip.”
PSG, which said it was pleased with the two-hour hearing at the commission on Wednesday, said in a statement it recalled that Mbappe had formerly made “clear, repeated public and private commitments that must be respected, having been afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven fantastic years in Paris.”
PSG has argued that it does not owe money to the World Cup winner under an agreement when Mbappe was sidelined ahead of the 2023-24 season — following his decision not to prolong his contract with the club — with the player allegedly stipulating that he would relinquish bonuses over his reintegration into the team.
“To avoid its payment obligation, the club seeks to demonstrate the existence of a secret agreement that would justify it. But the club fails to demonstrate the existence of such an agreement,” Mbappe’s representatives said.
PSG said that the league’s legal commission recommended “mediation between the parties,” which the club said it had been seeking for months.
The French league did not respond to a request for comments from the AP.
The player’s representatives did not say what action they will now take. In light of the current deadlock, it’s likely the case will ultimately be settled by an employment court.
Mbappe’s relationship with PSG ended amid deep tensions during his final season at the club.
PSG felt let down by Mbappe after offering him the most lucrative contract in the club’s history when he signed a new contract in 2022. But Mbappe was frustrated because he felt promises to sign key players were not kept.
When he signed the new deal, he was paraded in front of fans holding up a jersey with 2025 on it. Mbappe was reportedly annoyed about this because the contract was until 2024 with the option for an extra year.
Mbappe stunned PSG in June last year by informing the club he would not take the option for an extra year. With his contract effectively into its final year, it put PSG in the position of needing to sell Mbappe to avoid losing him for free when the contract expired.
His PSG career could have ended in the summer of 2023 amid a tense transfer standoff. After telling the club he would not extend his contract for an extra year, Mbappe was left off a preseason tour to Japan and South Korea and forced to train with fringe players. PSG said it would rather sell him than let the player leave for free in 2024, but he rejected a €300 million move to Saudi team Al-Hilal.
PSG left Mbappe out of the team’s opening league game of that season as the standoff continued but eventually let him return to the lineup after “constructive and positive talks” between the two parties, PSG said at the time.
Argentina goalkeeper Martinez under fire for hitting TV cameraman after loss to Colombia
- Jackson: Out of the blue he slapped me. I felt angry, very angry. I was working, just like he was
- Footballers have been suspended from games in similar situations, and that is what Colombia’s association of sports journalists — known as ACORD — wants FIFA to do
- Martinez and South American soccer body CONMEBOL did not make comments
BOGOTA, Colombia: A TV cameraman said Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez “slapped me” after Colombia’s 2-1 win in a World Cup qualifying match.
Jhonny Jackson told Colombian media he approached Martinez after the final whistle in Barranquilla on Tuesday as the goalkeeper greeted another player. Footage he captured shows the World Cup winner who Argentines know as Dibu hitting the camera, which quickly shakes to the ground after the impact.
“Out of the blue he slapped me,” Jackson told RCN Deportes on Wednesday. “I felt angry, very angry. I was working, just like he was. He was playing and I was shooting with my camera.”
He also sent a message to Martinez: “Dibu, my brother, how are you? I am Jhonny Jackson, the cameraman you assaulted in the match against Colombia. I wanted to tell you it is all good, my brother. Everyone has lost a match in their life. This defeat clearly meant a lot to you. But look ahead, Dibu.”
Jackson works for a company that delivers footage to channels Caracol Television and RCN Deportes.
Footballers have been suspended from games in similar situations, and that is what Colombia’s association of sports journalists — known as ACORD — wants FIFA to do. Its president Faiver Hoyos Hernandez said in a statement that Martinez attacked freedom of expression.
“As the journalistic authority in this country, ACORD wants FIFA to produce an exemplary sanction against Mr. Emiliano Dibu Martinez, who is no role model for new generations,” the statement said.
Martinez and South American soccer body CONMEBOL did not make comments.
Argentina lead the South American World Cup qualifying with 18 points after eight matches, two points ahead of Colombia. All teams have two more qualifying matches next month. The top six teams will get automatic spots at the 2026 World Cup.
England’s new white-ball era off to shaky start in loss to Australia in first T20 cricket match
SOUTHAMPTON, England: A new era for England’s white-ball teams got off to a shaky start with a 28-run loss to Australia on Wednesday in the first of three T20 matches between the fierce cricket rivals.
Australia was put into bat and dismissed for 179 with three balls remaining — an under-par score at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton given the team smashed 86 off the powerplay and was 118-2 after 10 overs. Travis Head hit a 19-ball fifty in his knock of 59 to get the Australians off to a rapid start.
England, with a batting lineup missing injured captain Jos Buttler and including uncapped Jordan Cox and Jacob Bethell, stumbled to 52-4. After Liam Livingstone (37) and Sam Curran (18) threatened a fightback with a 54-run partnership for the fifth wicket, England lost three wickets in 10 balls to plunge to 113-7 and was eventually all out for 151 with four balls left.
The other matches in the T20 series are in Cardiff on Friday and Manchester on Sunday. Then comes a five-match ODI series between the teams, where Buttler — England’s white-ball talisman — may return from his right calf injury that will cause him to miss the T20s.
With the 30-year-old Jamie Overton also selected for the first time, England’s lineup included three uncapped players as well as a stand-in captain in Phil Salt. Australia’s more-established team had too much for the hosts, with the 86-run opening partnership between Matthew Short (41 off 26 balls) and Head building an excellent platform.
Head crashed 30 runs off the first over bowled by Curran, who quickly disappeared from England attack.
It took the arrival of spinners Adil Rashid and Livingstone to slow the run-rate, and Australia started to quickly lose wickets — with the last eight departing for 61.
In the chase, the 23-year-old Cox was out for an unconvincing 17 off 12 balls and the 20-year-old Bethell managed only 2. Overton was also in the top seven of an inexperienced and fragile batting lineup, and made 15.
Australia’s fielding was brilliant, with Tim David’s catch — on the dive after turning round and running into the leg side — to remove Cox particularly standing out.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez gets 6-month driving ban
- The 23-year-old Fernandez did not appear in court for sentencing on Wednesday
CARDIFF: Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has been banned from driving for six months because of motoring offenses in Wales.
The 23-year-old Fernandez did not appear in court for sentencing on Wednesday. He had been found guilty earlier this year on two charges of failing to identify the driver of a Porsche Cayenne.
A driver of the car allegedly ran a red light in the town of Llanelli in November and was caught speeding in Swansea last December.
It was not proven that Fernandez was the driver of the vehicle.
Fernandez, who played for Argentina in Colombia on Tuesday, was the vehicle’s registered owner but did not respond to police requests for information.
He also was ordered to pay 3,020 pounds ($4,000) in fines and costs.
Manchester United vow to improve on and off pitch after fifth year of losses
- United have embarked on a slew of changes since British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe bought a 25 percent stake in the club
- Newly appointed CEO Omar Berrada said: “Our clear objective is to return the club to the top of European football“
LONDON: Manchester United’s new chief said on Wednesday the club were working toward improving performance on and off the pitch after a fifth consecutive year of net losses following a poor 2023-24 season and heavy investments in the new squad.
The English Premier League soccer club’s shares slipped 8 percent in early US trading as net losses widened to more than 113 million pounds ($147 million) in the year to June, making it only the second time since its New York listing in 2012 that losses topped 100 million pounds.
United have embarked on a slew of changes since British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe bought a 25 percent stake in the club and under his stewardship had a busy summer in the transfer market, securing several promising young players.
“We are working toward greater financial sustainability and making changes to our operations to make them more efficient, to ensure we are directing our resources to enhancing on-pitch performance,” newly appointed CEO Omar Berrada said.
“Our clear objective is to return the club to the top of European football.”
The Premier League has clamped down on big spending by clubs with its Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) to try to level the playing field and prevent rich owners from spending vast sums on players.
To comply with PSR, clubs must rack up no more than 105 million pounds of losses over a three-year period, although investments in infrastructure, academies, charity foundation and women’s soccer can be deducted.
United have recorded losses of more than 257 million pounds in the past three years, and more than 370 million pounds over five years. The club said they were committed to and compliant with the PSR, as well as European governing body UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Regulations.
United finished eighth in the Premier League last season, their lowest position since the league’s inception in 1992. This season has not started any better, with two losses from the first three games.
For fiscal 2025, the club expect an adjusted core profit of 145-160 million pounds and revenues of 650-670 million pounds. They reported adjusted core profit of 147.7 million pounds on record revenues of 661.8 million pounds in fiscal 2024.
The forecast reflects the impact of recent restructuring that included 250 job cuts.
