Las Palmas – Barcelona 2:1 (November 30, 2024) Match analysis

LaLiga leaders Barcelona’s 125th anniversary celebrations were spoiled by Las Palmas, who secured a shock 2-1 win on Saturday after Fábio Silva scored the winning goal to extend the hosts’ winning streak in the league to three games.

In a game dominated by Barça, who had 70% possession and showered the goal with almost 30 shots, it was Las Palmas who capitalized on their few chances to claim a famous triumph.

Barça remain on 34 points and lead second-placed Real Madrid by four points, but their rivals now have two games in hand, while the win saw Las Palmas move up to 14th with 15 points.

“I think if we don’t score goals, the team has a bit of problems and we have to change that,” said Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.

“If we don’t score, it might be possible for us to keep a clean sheet. That’s why we have to defend better as a team, not just the last four or the defensive players, but the whole team, and we can do it better.

Las Palmas constantly found space in Barça’s penalty area in the early stages of the first half at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, but failed to break through despite wasting chances.

Barcelona also lost full-back Alejandro Balde to injury in the first half when the 21-year-old drove off in a golf cart.

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

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The Catalans struggled to find a way past the Las Palmas defense, although Raphinha attempted a counterattack just before half-time but his shot bounced off the crossbar.

Las Palmas took the lead early in the second half when a great passing move that started with goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen ended when another former Barça player, Sandro Ramirez, scored from the edge of the box.

However, second-half substitutions, including the introduction of newly minted Golden Boy Lamine Yamal, helped Barça dominate and they equalized just after the hour mark when Pedri found Raphinha in a gap near the edge of the penalty area.

The nimble Brazilian winger turned and fired a low left-footed shot past Cillessen to make it 1-1 for his ninth league goal of the season.

However, Las Palmas were undeterred and took the lead again when Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Silva broke the offside trap, intercepted a pass from Javi Muñoz and beat goalkeeper Iñaki Peña.

The home side pushed for an equalizer again and Raphinha saw his free kick deflected in by Cillessen.

Robert Lewandowski, LaLiga’s top scorer, also had two chances to equalize late in stoppage time but saw a glancing header go wide before his shot was blocked by the defense.

“I’m very happy, it’s such a big victory for us, we worked so hard and suffered a lot. These are three important points,” said Las Palmas midfielder Alberto Moleiro.

“We stayed very compact and didn’t leave a lot of space between the lines, that was the key. When we created chances up front, we made the most of them.”