Barcelona suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of their visitors, Las Palmas, on Saturday evening in the 15th round of La Liga, at the Olympic Stadium of Montjuïc, known as Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
Sandro Ramirez and Fabio Silva found the net for Las Palmas in the 49th and 67th minutes, respectively, while Rafinha scored Barcelona’s lone goal in the 61st minute.
The defeat leaves Barcelona stranded at 34 points, still at the top of the La Liga standings. Meanwhile, Las Palmas climbed to 14th place with 15 points after securing this crucial victory.
Real Madrid sits on 30 points, holding a four-point lead over Barcelona, with a golden opportunity to take the top spot if they secure victories in their upcoming matches against Getafe and Valencia.
Barcelona, on the other hand, suffered their third La Liga defeat of the season. This comes after back-to-back stumbles in the previous rounds, losing 0-1 to Real Sociedad and drawing 2-2 with Celta Vigo.
The match began with Barcelona applying early pressure. In the fifth minute, Pablo Torre delivered a precise pass deep into the penalty area to Fermin Lopez, who unleashed a powerful strike. However, Las Palmas goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen made an impressive save to deny the effort.
In the 21st minute, Fermin Lopez attempted a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area, but his effort soared over the Las Palmas goal.
Moments later, Barcelona suffered a setback as Alejandro Balde sustained a neck injury after colliding with a Las Palmas player. Despite attempting to continue, Balde was unable to recover and had to be stretchered off the pitch. Coach Hansi Flick brought on young defender Gerard Martin to replace him in the 25th minute.
Las Palmas launched their first notable attack in the 31st minute when Fabio Silva fired a shot from inside the box, but Barcelona goalkeeper Iñaki Peña produced an excellent save to deny the visitors.
The pressure from Las Palmas continued with Javi Muñoz unleashing a shot in the 35th minute, but his effort went wide, wasting a golden opportunity to break the deadlock.
Barcelona thought they had found a breakthrough just before halftime when Pedri’s strike from the edge of the area was parried by goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.
The rebound from Pedri’s shot fell perfectly to Rafinha, who made no mistake, calmly slotting the ball into the net. However, the referee ruled the goal out for offside, keeping the score level at 0-0 at the break.
In stoppage time of the first half, Rafinha nearly broke the deadlock for Barcelona with a powerful shot, but his effort narrowly missed, and the teams went into the break locked in a goalless draw.
The second half began with a burst of energy, and it was Las Palmas who struck first. In the 49th minute, Sandro Ramirez capitalized on a well-executed counterattack. Rodriguez delivered a precise pass into the box, and Ramirez calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner, leaving goalkeeper Iñaki Peña with no chance.
Barcelona responded in the 61st minute when Rafinha found the equalizer, Pedri set him up on the edge of the penalty area, and Rafinha unleashed a precise, low-driven shot that nestled into the bottom left corner of the net, beating Cillessen and leveling the score.
However, the joy was short-lived for the Catalans. Just six minutes later, in the 67th minute, Fabio Silva restored Las Palmas’ lead. Breaking through Barcelona’s defense after receiving a well-timed pass from Javier Muñoz, Silva raced forward and drilled the ball into the bottom right corner, leaving Peña helpless once again.
In the 78th minute, Pedri thought he had equalized for Barcelona when he found the back of the net, but his goal was disallowed for offside, keeping Las Palmas ahead 2-1.
Barcelona had an opportunity to equalize by a free kick near the penalty area. Rafinha took the set-piece with finesse, but Las Palmas goalkeeper Cillessen was equal to the task, making a brilliant save and pushing the ball out for a corner in the 81st minute.
In the final minutes, Barcelona felt they should have been awarded a penalty after Mika Marmol was involved in a clash with Pau Coparsi in the area, but the referee waved away the appeals in the 89th minute.
The home side continued to press for an equalizer, but despite their efforts, they were unable to break through. The match ended with Las Palmas securing a 2-1 victory, leaving Barcelona to reflect on another disappointing result in La Liga.
