Las Palmas pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory against La Liga leaders Barcelona on Saturday, dampening the hosts’ 125th-anniversary celebrations at the Olympic Stadium.
Sandro Ramirez opened the scoring for the visitors early in the second half, and while Raphinha equalized with a spectacular strike, Fabio Silva secured all three points for Las Palmas with a decisive finish. The victory lifts Las Palmas to 14th place in the table.
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Barcelona, meanwhile, maintain a four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid. However, Los Blancos, who face Getafe on Sunday, have two games in hand over Hansi Flick’s side. The defeat extends Barcelona’s winless streak in La Liga to three matches, a stark contrast to their earlier form of 11 wins in 12 games.
As part of their anniversary celebrations, Barcelona donned white shorts, a nod to their early years, and held a gala in the city on Friday. However, the festivities were marred by Saturday’s upset.
Teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, returning from an ankle injury, started on the bench. Former Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen proved instrumental for Las Palmas, making crucial saves throughout the match, including denying Fermin Lopez early on.
Barcelona faced an early setback when Alejandro Balde was forced off with a concussion following a collision with Sandro, leading to Gerard Martin’s introduction. Las Palmas, undeterred, showed attacking intent, with Alberto Moleiro setting up Javi Munoz for a chance that went narrowly wide.
Raphinha came closest for Barcelona in the first half, hitting the crossbar and finding the net from an offside position, while Pedri was denied by a sharp save from Cillessen.
Flick introduced Yamal at halftime in place of Pablo Torre, seeking a spark to break the deadlock. However, Las Palmas struck first, with Kirian Rodriguez setting up Ramirez, who drilled a precise shot past Inaki Pena.
Raphinha responded with a thunderous long-range equalizer, but Silva restored Las Palmas’ lead minutes later, latching onto a lofted pass from Munoz and finishing clinically for his fifth goal in eight league games.
Barcelona pushed for a second equalizer, with Yamal testing Cillessen and Pedri’s effort bravely blocked by Viti. The visitors withstood eight minutes of added time, with Cillessen and his defenders heroically denying Robert Lewandowski a late equalizer to secure a memorable victory.
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