Four posts, two penalties, controversy and half salvation

Mallorca took a giant step forward in their goal of permanence by defeating Cádiz 2-1 in Son Moix with two penalty goals scored by Salva Sevilla and Kosovar Vedat Muriqi, who was making his LaLiga debut.

The victory, third in Palma this season, breaks a losing streak of four in a row for the Mallorcan players, who, in addition, gain an advantage in the lower part of the table by taking 5 points from Cádiz with one less game -on March 2 against the Real Sociedad- and 7 to Alavés.

The cadistas lost their first match with Sergio González on the bench and saw the comeback that they began by adding 4 of the last 6 points in play frustrated.

The yellow team had chances and fought until the end. He was able to equalize in added time with a shot that crashed into a post and protested until exhaustion the second penalty that gave the vermilion victory.

The first minutes reflected the enormous importance of the points at stake in a venue where Majorcanism lived a party that began long before, with free paella, concerts and mosaic displays.

The nerves, the anxiety, the fear of making a mistake, marked the development of a ‘final’ – that’s how everyone understood it – no matter how much there was no title at stake.

They wanted to squeeze Mallorca at the beginning with physical display and a strong leg, but Cádiz’s response was just as forceful. The two teams adjusted their lines to survive in a game that was going to be defined by details, as it happened.

In the 8th minute, Cádiz scored a great goal, the work of Rubén Alcaraz after hooking a thread with his unstoppable left leg for Sergio Rico, and 12 minutes later Salva Sevilla equalized from a penalty, after Iván Alejo grabbed Brian Oliván in the area.

From 1-1, Mallorca became the owner of the game. He created enough chances to go into the break with an advantage -Muriqi demanded Ledesma with a header and Ángel crashed a ball into both posts-, but Cádiz also had the goal with another shot by Rubén Alcaraz that Sergio Rico stopped down in a display of reflexes.

The game entered a phase of inaccuracies after the break. The vermilion maintained dominance of the actions, but the yellows worried on the counter, with Lucas Pérez and Álvaro Negredo at the top of the attack.

Mallorca’s second goal, also from a penalty, was heavily protested by the visitors.

The Argentine goalkeeper Jeremías Ledesma jumped with a knee in front to control an aerial ball and hit Ángel on his way out, who was shocked and, although he returned to the field of play, shortly after he was replaced by Amath Ndiayé.

The referee did not indicate the maximum foul at first, although at the request of the VAR he reviewed the play and called a penalty that the Kosovar Vedat Muriqi materialized.

Cádiz did not give up their efforts to at least take a point from Son Moix and made a superior Mallorca suffer in several phases of the match, but ended up locked up in the ten minutes of extension defending a crucial victory.

The vermilion were able to score the third and the cadistas also had the tie with a rebound by Raillo that crashed into the left post of Sergio Rico’s goal.