Óscar Trejo’s first-half penalty saw us crash out of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals as we suffered a 1-0 defeat at Rayo Vallecano.
Luis García Plaza named a strong side for the fixture and handed debuts to new signings Gio González, Sergio Rico and Muriqi, while Dani Rodríguez and Take Kubo were late additions to the squad having returned from a COVID-19 infection and international duty respectively.
A tense opening with few chances for either side eventually resulted in Ángel racing in behind the hosts’ defence and finding the back of the net after Kang-In Lee had played a clever chipped through ball, but the offside flag quickly curtailed any celebrations.
An incisive counter attack two minutes from the break ended with Franco Russo tripping Álvaro in the area and a penalty being awarded. Trejo made no mistake from the spot to give Rayo Vallecano the lead come the break.
The hosts were the better side after the restart and would have doubled their lead minutes into the second half had it not been for a great reaction save from Rico to deny Sergi Guardiola from close range.
Plaza looked to inject fresh impetus into his side with the introductions of Matthew Hoppe, Take Kubo and Dani Rodríguez.
Muriqi had a late chance to grab an equaliser when he climbed highest to meet a whipped cross, although the striker was unable to direct his header on target.
Despite our best efforts, we were unable to pull level and our Copa del Rey adventure ended in the quarter-finals.
Rayo Vallecano: Dimitrievski, Balliu, Catena, Mario Suárez, Kevin Rodrigues, Isi (Bebé, m.88), Valentín, Comesaña (Unai López, m.62), Álvaro (Nteka, m.79); Trejo (Pathé Ciss, m.79), Sergi Guardiola (Sylla, m.62)
RCD Mallorca: Sergio Rico, Maffeo, Russo, Valjent, Jaume Costa, Giovanni González (Dani Rodríguez, m.56), Ruiz de Galarreta (Hoppe, m.56), Antonio Sánchez (Battaglia, m.75), Kang In Lee (Kubo, m.77), Ángel (Salva Sevilla, m.56), Muriqi
Goals: Trejo, 1-0 (43')
