Highlights Las Palmas 1-2 Barcelona: LaLiga 23/24

Highlights Las Palmas 1-2 Barcelona: LaLiga 23/24 Barcelona begins the new year with a difficult away journey as they attempt to cut the gap at the top of the league. The Blaugrana are presently fourth with 38 points, ten points behind Real Madrid and Girona, both of which won on Wednesday.

The Christmas break came at an ideal moment for Xavi's team, as they lost points in three of their past five LaLiga games, and it doesn't get any easier as they face a tenacious Las Palmas side.

The freshly promoted team is now 10th in the rankings, with seven victories from their first 18 games. If they win on Thursday, they would move up to eighth, equal with Real Betis on 28 points.

This despite only scoring 15 goals and conceding 15 times - only Real Madrid (11) has surrendered less.

Ferran Torres' equalizer barely 10 minutes into the second half had more than a whiff of luck about it, but it appeared unavoidable until Gundogan took advantage of a shove in the penalty area to win the spot-kick that proved decisive.
New €40 million signing Vitor Roque came off the bench to replace a subpar Robert Lewandowski, but Xavi was dealt another blow early on as Joao Cancelo went down with a knee injury.
Roque did waste a three-on-one opportunity after Gundogan's penalty, nearly overrunning Joao Felix's ball and missing the goal. However, the 18-year-old jumped right in and showed more in 10 minutes than Robert Lewandowski did in 80.
The Pole spent as much time arguing with his teammates as he did attacking the opposing defense, scarcely influencing the game.
Torres' first goal came as a result of the ball being smashed into Lewandowski's face and falling straight to Sergi Roberto, who supplied Torres for a clean finish past goalkeeper Alvaro Valles.

DISCUSSION: FALTERING BARCA FLATTER TO DECEIVE

Las Palmas 1-2 Barcelona:

Barcelona revealed vulnerabilities at both ends of the field against Las Palmas, and they may still be collecting Christmas vacation pay after a first-half performance in which they were outfought and out-played by the hosts.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the goalkeeper, isn't expected to recover from a back injury until February, which can't come fast enough for Xavi.
The water near the Canary Islands drops to 4,000 meters, which is roughly how much Inaki Pena seemed to be out of his depth in the first half.
He should never have let Munir pounce on Sandro's low cross to put his team ahead, and then looked to be plagued by it for the rest of the game, flailing at multiple half-saves that might easily have placed his team farther down.

Andreas Christensen, Cancelo's substitute, was similarly caught sleeping early for the opening, with Sandro the hero of the first half for either side.
Barcelona, on the other hand, deserves respect for coming back in a difficult away environment; their midfield dominated the second half, and Gundogan, Frenkie De Jong, and Sergi Roberto's efforts deserved to be rewarded with a goal. Now the issue is, will they be able to start up where they left off tonight?

FERRAN TORRES WAS THE MATCH WINNER.

There weren't many possibilities in this game, but Ferran Torres highlighted Barcelona's shift in mindset either side of halftime.

Torres, who had been promoted to the starting lineup by Xavi, was almost invisible early on and was on the edge of not even seeing the second half as Joao Felix appeared to be almost set to come on. However, he ultimately repaid his manager's trust with a spectacular finish to equalize.

Torres got the ball in a tight penalty area and had little space to elevate his foot for a good shot, instead driving it so fast that Valles was caught off guard and could only get a fingertip to it.
He, too, continued to strive for the winner, and his passion to propel the team ahead stood in sharp contrast to Lewandowski's.

RATINGS FOR PLAYERS

Las Palmas 1-2 Barcelona

Valles, Suarez, Coco, Marmol, S Cardona, Munoz, Perrone, Rodriguez, Munir, Sandro, and Moleiro for Las Palmas.M Cardona 6, Loiodice 6, Pejino 7, Sinkgraven 1 are the substitutes.
Pena 4, Cancelo 6, Araujo 7, Kounde 5, Balde 6, De Jong 7, Gundogan 6, Roberto 6, Raphinha 6, Lewandowski 4, Torres 8.Christensen 5, Yamal 6, Felix 7, Roque 7, Lopez 7 are the substitutes.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MATCH

12' - GOAL! BARCELONA 1-0 LAS PALMAS (MUNIR):The hosts take the lead thanks to the combined efforts of two ex-Barcelona players! They've been the superior team thus far, tearing away an allegedly well-organized Barcelona defense with only two passes - Pena should've closed it down, but the Moroccan was simply hungrier. Sandro was supplied in a surprising amount of space on the right side before producing the wonderfully curled low cross for Munir to pounce on. It's game time!

22' - NEARLY 2-0!After switching flanks, Sandro beat Kounde all ends up, and a fast one-two with Alberto Moleiro sent him through on goal. He slid at full stretch to beat Pena to the ball and win a corner, but the Islanders fail to capitalize.

GOLDEN CHANCE! 32'Frenkie de Jong hoisted an inch-perfect ball to Sergi Roberto, who was tearing off the last defender, and he handled it well before attempting to square it to Lewandowski rather than taking the shot himself, and Las Palmas scrambled it to safety.

39' - MUNIR REAPPEARS:A faster player may have scored. Barcelona gets dispossessed in midfield once again, and Kiran Rodriguez cleverly pushes the ball for Munir to pursue. He's not fast enough, and his first touch isn't terrific, so Las Palmas will have to settle for a corner. From the set piece, Sandro grabs the ball on the outside of the area and launches an arcing shot that just misses a beaten Pena's left-hand post. That was just an inch away from greatness...

55' - GOAL! 1-1 LAS PALMAS TORRES, BARCELONA:Barcelona has won the first half, and their efforts have finally paid off. A Las Palmas clearance struck Lewandowski in the head and dropped to Sergi Roberto in the penalty area, who shuffled it to Ferran Torres, who delivered a clever finish past Valles, who had played well today and still got a hand to it.

90+1' - PUNISHMENT!THE CITY OF BARCELONA HAS BEEN SAVED! With Gundogan sprinting in at the back post, Felix unleashed a stinging shot that Valles could only palm away. The ball was arguably too high for him to reach, but under pressure from Sinkgraven, he jumps to the ground acrobatically and buys the penalty. The German will also take the penalty kick...

N/A for Joao Cancelo

Due to an injury, he was replaced after 11 minutes.

Ronald Araujo: 4 points

Was largely at blame for the goal due to poor marking, as has been the case in recent weeks.

4 for Jules Kounde

We gave the ball away far too many times in critical situations, and we also did not defend the right side effectively enough.

7 Alejandro Balde

Made a couple strong runs with the ball, defeating the press alone, but lacked the time and space to pass it to his teammates. However, it was at times the sole outlet open to Barcelona.

8 points for Roberto

Roberto had a strong first half, seeming to be the only player able to avoid the offside trap despite Las Palmas. Should have scored as well, but chose to pass instead, which backfired.

He eventually received an assist, which speaks well for his performance.

7 for Ilkay Gundogan

Gundogan had one of his quieter nights, unable to make an impact in midfield. Eventually came up clutch, winning and converted the penalty in injury time.

8.5 for Frenkie de Jong

By far Barcelona's greatest player on the field, de Jong was the lone connection between midfield and attack, effectively connecting the two with balls over the defense.

5.5 for Raphinha

Couldn't break through the press and offside trap in the first half, but played better in the second. However, it is too little, too late.

3 Robert Lewandowski

Throughout the game, I was ghosted.

7.5 for Ferran Torres

Payed back Xavi's faith in him with a strong showing - certainly the best of the front three. With a good finish, he equalized and should have remained on the field until full-time.

SUBSTITUTES

2 Lamine Yamal

Should have been substituted in sooner, but also much more engaged than he was tonight.

4 points for Joao Felix

Made several good runs behind the defense, but his decision-making fell short.

6 Fermin Lopez

Again, he may have been substituted sooner. In the pockets, he made a difference by locating runners in the last third and producing a handful of opportunities.