COLUMN: Are RCD Mallorca La Liga's New Defensive Dark Horse? 

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Every long-time La Liga watcher will remember the peak of Jose Bordalas' Getafe, the infamous Euro Getafe. They finished fifth in the 2018-19 season and then knocked the Ajax of Erik ten Hag out of the Europa League, an opponent who had reached the Champions League semi-finals the year before. 

Buenos días, azulones

𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝟰 𝗮𝗻̃𝗼𝘀… 𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗹 𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗮… 𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗺𝗼𝘀… 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔 #VamosGeta | #AjaxGetafepic.twitter.com/aBT5TImgqk

— Getafe C.F. (@GetafeCF) February 27, 2024

In possession, Getafe was happy to be extremely direct and send as many long balls from the keeper to the strikers as possible. They could be so direct because they were supremely good at winning the duels and second balls that followed these long balls. This duel-winning also made them very strong in defensive phases, further boosted by their mastery of football's dark arts. They were one of the best teams in Europe at interrupting play via fouls and time-wasting. 

Many people might have disliked the reactive and defensive football this Getafe played, but no one can argue about its effectiveness.  During the 2018-19 season, Getafe was the best defence in the league, with only 35 goals conceded.  A match against Getafe was as painful as a visit to the dentist. No team in the division, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, could play their usual football against them. 

So why spend all this time summarising Getafe in an article about Mallorca? Well, the current Mallorca project reminds me of Getafe in a few ways. Facing Mallorca has become a visit to the dentist, even though they cause their opponents pain in different ways. 

For example, Mallorca are less intense, and they interrupt play less. Suppose we measure the intensity of team pressing using Understat's passes allowed per defensive action (PPDA). In that case, Getafe ranks as the league's fifth most intense pressing side, while Mallorca is sixteenth. Based on data from Opta and FBREF, I also calculated how often teams in this La Liga season have interrupted opposition play using fouls. Unsurprisingly, Bordalas' Getafe is one of the top teams in this category, ranking third with a foul committed every 96 seconds of opposition play. On the other hand, Mallorca ranks sixteenth and way below the median value, interrupting play every 160 seconds.  

These numbers show that Mallorca has been more passive this season, letting opponents play out of their own half instead of pressing aggressively. However, once the opposition reaches Mallorca's half, they will be intense and win the duels. For example, the two defensive pillars of this team, Antonio Raillo and Samu Costa, are two of the most dominant players in the league when it comes to winning aerial duels. They are among the players who most frequently engage in aerial duels, yet they also win them at a very high rate, with Raillo winning 74% of his aerial duels, while Costa wins 69%.  

And if these two towers are defeated, Mallorca has some good goalkeeping to save the day. For example, Dominik Greif has been on good form and made several key saves that prevented a Betis victory. However, his substitute, Leo Roman, has also delivered excellent performances against Sevilla and Real Sociedad, with his combined total of 12 saves helping Mallorca keep a clean sheet in both games. Roman could be starting for many other La Liga teams, so it's a luxury for Mallorca to count on him as a back-up keeper.  

https://twitter.com/RCD_Mallorca/status/1838539128603861252/video/1

These key players and tactical blueprint have allowed Mallorca to post some good defensive numbers at the start of the season. They have only conceded five goals this season, one of the five lowest tallies in the league. This is backed up by their underlying numbers, with their expected goals conceded also being one of the five lowest in the league. 

We expected Jagoba Arrasate to coach a richer offensive game than Javier Aguirre did last season, but this has yet to be true. Mallorca remains a fairly direct team that relies primarily on good counterattacks, long balls, crosses, and set pieces. They rely on crossing more frequently than last season, ranking first for crosses per game in La Liga (22). In Arrasate's defense, his team has had a rough calendar, facing Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Betis, and Villarreal in their first seven games, so perhaps we'll see more and more diverse attacks from his team against lower-half Liga teams. 

Whatever the case, Mallorca's defensive plan has yielded results. Real Madrid were the first to suffer the Mallorcan dentist drill this season, getting only a draw at Son Moix after struggling to create chances against a tough Mallorca defence. Real Sociedad and Real Betis are now the latest victims of the drill, with Mallorca claiming narrow victories in both games, including an injury-time winner against Betis.  

Com ho vàreu celebrar?

‍ 🫨 🫠 pic.twitter.com/C4fId6pR7Y

— Real Mallorca (@RCD_Mallorca) September 24, 2024

With some luck, this defensive blueprint could even take them to Europe. It's not easy, but if any of the top half clubs (Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Villarreal, Betis) has an off-year, Mallorca and Girona are perhaps the best-positioned clubs in the league to take advantage.  

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