Everything was prepared in Montjuïc for the Barcelona party, which turned 125 years old on Friday, but Las Palmas did not go to Barcelona as a companion, it went to compete, it did wonderfully, it took the three points and there can already be talk of a crisis in the leader of LaLiga. Because Barcelona will continue first, yes, but if Real Madrid beats Getafe today they will be one point away, with one game less. There are three weeks in a row without winning: Real Sociedad (defeat), Celta (draw) and Las Palmas (defeat).
Everything pointed to local happiness for several reasons: it was at home, against a rival from the bottom of the table, with the return of Lamine Yamal, although he came out in the second half… A day to put an end to doubts after the recent setbacks, but it was the other way around, they have only increased. The victory of Las Palmas was not coincidental, it was deserved for a long time, with the logical dose of resistance in the final minutes due to the theoretical difference in level. After an overwhelming first few months, Barça is looking more and more like last year, predictable in attack and weak in defense, despite the fact that Iñigo Martínez multiplied in the cuts. Uncoordinated in pressure. Sandro constantly found space and soon reached the baseline, although his cross, which was too strong, bounced off Javi Muñoz, who was unable to finish due to the speed at which the ball came to him. Fermín answered with a clear arrival, but Cillessen stopped him. Until the minutes before half-time there was not much more offensive news from Barça, with a shot against the crossbar by Raphinha. He defended Las Palmas well and found a way to get out. McKenna had the option of scoring a goal after Javi Muñoz arrived from the left, but he was not successful either.. The back of the Barça defense, a safe place in the first months due to offside, is no longer so safe.
The Gran Canaria team could pay for those mistakes, but this time that football law was not complied with. He did not give up going out with the ball played and as a result Sandro scored the first goal, after a fantastic collective action, from the goalkeeper to the attacker, with few touches and everything very quickly. The ball reached Kirian when he was free and he was then able to use his talent to look long for the scorer, who also had merit in the cross shot. Las Palmas had a break when he was able to play with the ball. Lamine Yamal was already on the field. The teenage star came out at half-time, a sign that Flick was not clear at all, and was more willful than effective, misguided in his passes and somewhat hasty. Raphinha did find the way with a shot from outside the area after combining with Pedri, who had a clearer way of scoring balls to find teammates between the lines.
Barcelona tied early and it seemed like they already had the most complicated task, but once again they changed into last year’s team: unstable and insecure. In another quick action, Las Palmas once again caught the Catalan team with Fabio Silva’s “colada”, which he resolved very well, pursued by Héctor Fort. The homegrown full-back had replaced Koundé, a strange change.
The leader now had less time to look for a comeback, and he tried it a bit in a muddled manner. At that moment opportunities did appear, but Cillessen was in charge of stopping Lamine’s shot and Raphinha’s foul. Another ex who was responsible for making his former team bitter, the same as Sandro.
The defense cleared Lewandowski’s shot when the game was already dying. Barcelona only found resources in the lateral centers, to the confusion of the fans, who protested with each back pass. All the artillery was already on the pitch, with Ferran Torres, who also reappeared and had a couple of attempts, with Pau Víctor… Many players attacking and few clear balls. Las Palmas resisted.