We came from a goal behind to beat Cádiz CF 2-1 courtesy of penalty goals from Salva Sevilla and Muriqi to record our first win of the new year.
Luiz García Plaza made a handful of changes to his side after our 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano as Sergio Rico and Muriqi were handed their league debuts, while Antonio Raíllo returned to the starting XI for the first time in over five months following ankle surgery.
We could not have wished for a worst start as Rubén Alcaraz gave the visitors the lead in the 8th minute when he managed to cut inside and find the top corner from the edge of the box.
After Take Kubo and Muriqi look to provide an instant response, we were level 12 minutes later when Salva Sevilla calmly dispatched a penalty following a push on Brian Olivan in the box.
The first half would not end without some late drama as Sergio Rico was forced into a smart double save to ensure we headed into the break on equal terms, while Ángel thought he had given us the lead when his effort struck the inside of the post and bounced away from danger.
We started the second half the stronger side and had an opportunity to draw level when Ángel was fouled by an on-rushing Jeremías Ledesma as he looked to clear a cross. After a lengthy VAR review, Muriqi opened his account for the club with the resulting spot in the 65th minute.
As time ebbed away having not been able to threaten our goal after we took the lead, Cádiz went on the offensive in an attempt to level matters late on.
The returning Raíllo breathed a sigh of relief when he deflected a strike onto the post with four minutes remaining.
The visitors’ offensive approach left holes in their defence which Abdón was inches away from capitalising on when his strike hit the post.
We held on to ensure the three points remained at home and end our run of four consecutive defeats.
RCD Mallorca: Sergio Rico, Maffeo, Valjent, Raíllo, Brian Oliván, Galarreta, Salva Sevilla (Antonio Sánchez, min. 81), Dani Rodríguez, Take (Battaglia, min. 89), Ángel (Amath, min. 69), Muriqi (Abdón Prats, min,. 89).
Cádiz CF: Ledesma; Iza, Haroyan (Idrissi, min. 91), Chust, Pacha Espino; Alcaraz, Alex Fernández (Hernández, min. 75), Alejo (Sobrino, min. 62), Salvi (Jonsson, min. 62), Negredo, Lucas Pérez (Perea, min. 91)
Goals: Rubén Alcaraz, 0-1 (8'); Salva Sevilla, 1-1 (20'); Muriqi, 2-1 (65')
