After a week when a guy in Montana, USA, tried to buy property on an old Indian reservation – when he asked if it came with running water, he was told to go forth and multiply, and to find his own wife! – Real Mallorca face a resurgent Las Palmas in their Estadio Gran Canaria tomorrow night (Saturday 23rd) at 6.30pm, with six players on the injured list including Abdon Prats and Pablo Maffeo, who both have hamstring problems and are likely to be unavailable for several weeks. Taking Maffeo’s place could be either Antonio Sanchez or 24-year-old Mateu Morey from Petra. He joined Borussia Dortmund in 2019 and has suffered two serious injuries. In 2021 he suffered a torn ligament in his right knee. In 2022 he tore his lateral meniscus in his left knee and only played 28 games in five seasons in Germany. Just whether he will be able to compete again at the highest level remains to be seen.
Before the international break, Asano, Cuellar, Lato and Valery were all definite non-starters for this “must win” game for Mallorca, who haven’t won since beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 on October 20. The injury situation is not helped by having a tight La Liga fixture schedule where we’ll play two games in three days, meaning there’s no allowance for post match recovery time.
All our seven internationalists appear to be back unscathed but two of these players, Mojica and Larin, didn’t arrive back until Thursday after playing in Colombia and Canada respectively. Their lack of time on the training ground is not the ideal preparation for this tough holiday island encounter. Las Palmas are a team on the rise and have made a remarkable resurgence under new coach Diego Martinez. In what’s called “new manager bounce,” they’ve won four of their last five games which has lifted them out of relegation trouble. In the last five meetings between the sides, Las Palmas have won one, Mallorca two, with two games drawn.
Mallorca’s form has dipped slightly recently but we have still got a healthy 18 points. The absence of Abdon Prats especially is a blow, as although he seldom starts a game, his introduction in the second half usually means goal opportunities aren’t far away. It’s up front where Mallorca are struggling at the moment. Muriqi and Larin were two of the most important signings (and highest wage earners) in the club’s history. To get Larin from Valladolid in 2023 and Muriqi from Lazio in 2022 cost 16 million euros between them with both players signing five-year deals.
Vedat Muriqi, Mallorca’s talisman. Photo: Carlos Gil-Roig
At the moment, Muriqi, Larin and Abdon share the striking duties. Muriqi has scored two headers. Larin, who’s played in fits and starts, has one, as has Abdon with a penalty. Muriqi is a great protagonist for Real Mallorca and his defensive work makes him our key player. He’s vital to the cause whether we win, lose or draw. Let’s hope “El Pirata” will find his way back to scoring against Las Palmas.
Our goals scored after 13 games since August is the fewest amount for 20 years. Thankfully we’ve got security in defence and the 10 goals conceded are the third best we’ve achieved since 1916. When Arrasate took over we were looking forward to a change of system with four at the back and attacking wingers to supply the ammunition to the strikers. Since then nobody expected such a goal-derth but there have been mitigating circumstances.
The jet-heeled Japanese winger Takuma Asano has been injured for two months and is still nowhere near making a comeback. Under 21 star Robert Navarro shines when he has the ball but he’s failed to provide the finishing touch. Our other underplayed and under-performing wide player is (Portuguese born) Chiquinho on loan from Wolves in England. He has hardly appeared and has only had 135 minutes on the pitch. Mallorca claim to have fought for his signature for which Wolves asked for 10 million quid. For the moment the Portuguese player shows that he’s far from worth that amount. We need these three wing men to step up and start laying on the ball for our attackers, especially Muriqi who is still without doubt one of the best headers of a ball in top flight Spanish football.
AND FINALLY, my neighbour’s son came home from school the other day in tears. “Dad, they wouldn’t pick me today to play football for the class. It’s not fair, I’m not that rubbish.” His father tried to console him by saying “There, there, Miguel, don’t be too disappointed. Think about your mate Pepe who’s in a wheelchair. Think yourself lucky you’re not like him.” Miguel said “I wish I was like him, Dad. He’s playing in goal!!”
