Espanyol 2-1 Real Mallorca – Betting Review

 

Betting Analysis

Looking at the 1×2 market first. Espanyol arguably had more at stake and used that to their advantage with a hard-fought win @ 2.45.

Moving onto the Asian handicap betting for this contest. Mallorca seemed a little undervalued in my eyes, but as outlined above and in this section of the preview, Espanyol -0.25 needed the win more and that counted for something, winning @ 2.04.

Finally, we will look at the Under/Over goals betting. As mentioned in the section of the betting preview, the line was set to low at 1.75. The Over was easy to take purely on value. Over won @ 1.85

 

Match Summary

Espanyol scored a goal in each half when playing their best and held on to deservedly beat Real Mallorca 2-1. This gave them a vital three points and ensured the Periquitos didn’t fall into the drop zone this round.

Mallorca showed attacking intent as the quarter-hour mark approached after a slow start to proceedings.

In a great position, Dani Rodríguez failed to hit the target for the Islanders.

Soon after Kang-in Lee’s strike gave Fernando Pacheco a fright but the shot went much closer as the away team posed more threat.

Mallorca keeper Predrag Rajkovic then ruined the sides good early work when his poor pass offered the hosts a gift that was gratefully accepted. The goalkeeper’s pass was intercepted by Aleix Vidal, and he found Martin Braithwaite for a simple finish.

Espanyol had another glorious opportunity from  a set piece but Javi Puado failed to capitalise and fired off target.

Mallorca had been second best but improved after Vedat Muriqi provided a moment of true quality just before the break. From the edge of the area his first time effort was too good for Pacheco and it was 1-1.

The goal takes the improving Kosovo centre forward into double digits in a league campaign for the first time since 2019/20.

Diego Martínez altered his pieces and came out more attacking in the second period. Espanyol improved and reward came a mere six minutes later. Melamed provided the pass and Braithwaite’s second restore Espanyol’s lead.

Espanyol continued to boss the game and Mallorca failed to readjust. With the hosts searching for breathing room, Braithwaite missed  a chance of a hat-trick before the hour mark, while Sergi Gómez was denied by a strong save from Rajkovic soon after.

Mallorca pushed hard to try and impact the second period. sub Ángel looked destined to get a leveller but Pacheco clawed his attempt away.

Star defender César Montes then made a superb last-ditch challenge to prevent Amath a run on goal.

Espanyol held on to a deserved win.