The 27th gameweek of the LaLiga season kicked off on Friday night, as Osasuna travelled to Mallorca for a mid-table battle. A win would see Javier Aguirre’s side leapfrog their opponents and claim the 9th spot, while Osasuna had potential to rise to 7th with a win.
RCD: Rajkovic; J. Costa, Copete, Raillo, Gonzalez, Maffeo; Lee, Baba, Galarreta, Rodriguez; Muriqi
OSA: Herrera; Cruz, U. Garcia, Aridane, Vidal; Oroz, Torro, Ibañez; Barja, Budimir, R. Garcia
Having lost their final two games ahead of the international break, Osasuna were in desperate need of a win at the Visit Mallorca Estadi – and there was no better chance than this game, with Mallorca’s last LaLiga win coming over a month ago.
Lee Kang-in came close for the hosts early on, whistling a free-kick from close range over the crossbar. Despite the early Mallorca chance, it was Osasuna that began to control the game – but the visitors were unable to make their possession count, and the next real chance fell to Pablo Maffeo who sent the ball over the bar on the volley!
Both teams were struggling to find that clinical final touch, and after half an hour played in the Balearic Islands, neither side had managed to record a shot on target. Vedat Muriqi could have opened the scoring after the break to put Mallorca in the lead, but resolute defending from the Osasuna back line kept the game goalless.
Daniel Rodriguez should have scored minutes later as he received a cross in the centre of the box, beating his man and firing a shot towards goal – but his poorly-struck effort was sent well wide of the left post.
Mallorca found themselves down to ten men in the 69th minute after Jose Copete received a straight red card from the referee for an illegal challenge on Ruben Garcia. Copete appeared to clatter the Osasuna winger as they both rushed for the ball, resulting in his dismissal.
While Osasuna’s newfound advantage did open the game up, with all three of the game’s shots on target coming in the final ten minutes, neither side were able to find the back of the net – and the game ended in a rather dull, goalless draw.
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