Mallorca 1 : 0 Zaragoza - Mallorca burst Zaragoza`s bubble

Posted Saturday, March 19, 2011 by PA

Real Zaragoza came back to earth with a bump as they lost 1-0 to Real Mallorca and finished the match with 10 men.

Coach Javier Aguirre had warned his players not to get carried away in the wake of their 4-0 thumping of Valencia last weekend, but his warning went unheeded as they suffered a defeat that leaves them looking over their shoulders towards the relegation zone.

Jonathan De Guzman got the goal in the 65th minute, finding the net with a free-kick from the edge of the area that came as a result of Antonio Doblas handling outside the area, earning himself an early shower.

It was a deserved win for Mallorca, who dominated for most of the game and now look to be safe from the drop.

Pierre Webo sent an early sighter just over before Gonzalo Castro tested Doblas, forcing him to tip a goalbound shot over the bar.

Doblas also denied Emilio Nsue as the hosts enjoyed the better of the first half, with Zaragoza limited to a long-range effort from Nicolas Bertolo.

Mallorca began the second half on top too, with Doblas called on to keep out De Guzman's free-kick four minutes in.

Paulo Da Silva was off target for Zaragoza at the other end before Mallorca's Pau Cendros blazed over from close range.

De Guzman had another chance from a set piece just after the hour mark, but could not keep his shot from 25 yards down.

Everything changed moments later when Doblas handled outside the area, earning a red card.

Bertolo was sacrificed with Leo Franco coming off the bench, but his first job was to recover De Guzman's free-kick from the net.

Suffering the numerical disadvantage, Zaragoza rarely threatened an equaliser, but almost snatched something dramatically in injury time when Dudu Aouate tipped Guiranne N'Daw's shot over the crossbar.