We were held to a tightly-contested goalless draw against Villarreal CF at the Visit Mallorca Estadi.
Luis García Plaza made three changes to the side which lost 2-0 to Athletic Bilbao on Matchday Four. Amath N’Diaye replaced Jordi Mboula, Salva Sevilla started in midfield in place of the injured Iñigo Ruíz de Galarreta and Jaume Costa started at left back with Brian Oliván pairing Martin Valjent at centre back.
The visitors started the stronger side and pinned us back in the opening exchanges, although we soon found our rhythm as Fer Niño came close to giving us an early lead when he controlled and then volleyed Salva Sevilla’s whipped free-kick over the bar.
Villarreal CF’s Dia had the first-half’s best opportunity when he latched onto former RCD Mallorca defender Pervis Estupiñán’s cross, but Manolo Reina produced a fine save to keep the scores level in the 23rd minute.
The opening 45 minutes ended with Dani Rodríguez connecting with Take Kubo’s pass, although he fired over the bar as both sides then headed into the dressing room.
Fer Niño continued to cause problems for Villarreal CF’s defence and shot wide from a tight angle, before substitute Alberto Moreno produced an acrobatic volley to force Reina into getting down low.
With less than 10 minutes on the clock, we thought we had found a late winner when Matthew Hoppe tucked away Joan Sastre’s cross with a first-time finish, but his strike was quickly ruled out by the offside flag.
Both sides would have half chances in the final stages of the fixture, although the points would ultimately be shared despite our best efforts.
RCD Mallorca: Reina, B. Oliván, Maffeo (36’), Valjent, Jaume Costa, Baba (91’), Salva Sevilla, Dani Rodríguez, Take Kubo (91’), Amath (59’), Fer Niño (59’)
Subsitutes: Greif, Sastre (36’), Febas, Mboula, Abdón, Antonio Sánchez, Lago Júnior (59’), Battaglia (91’), Kang-In Lee (91’), Hoppe (59’), Marc Carmona, Josep Gayà
Villarreal CF: Rulli, Albiol, Pau Torres, Capou, Foyth, Estupiñán (72’), Trigueros (57’), Danjuma (57’), Dia (57’), Coquelin (57’), Moi Gómez
Substitutes: S. Asenjo, Mario Gaspar, Parejo (57’), Alcácer (57’), Iborra, Alberto Moreno (57’), Peña (72’), Yeremi (57’), Mandi, Pedraza
