Las Palmas 1-2 FC Barcelona: Gundogan late winner seals a vital comeback on the road as Barca begins 2024 with a bang
FC Barcelona has defeated Las Palmas in an intense encounter, which saw a roller-coaster of emotions for both sides, as defending champions of La Liga completed a perfect turnaround to begin their year with a bang. After going down by one goal in the first half, Ferran and Gundogan’s late goal broke the hearts of home fans as latest star recruit Vitor Roque makes his Catalan debut.
FC Barcelona defeats Las Palmas
FC Barcelona has once again showed the world about their exceptional ability of completing perfect turnaround in difficult matches, as this trend has become a mainstream for the Spanish champions this season. Last night was not an exception either as Barca went down to 0-1 within the opening 45 minutes, conceding the first goal within 10 minutes. To add to their woes, Barca’s best defender of this season, Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo appeared to sustain an injury which forced him to be sidelined, replaced by seasoned Dane Andreas Christensen. But, banking on their ability to play a thriller and depending on seasoned stars in the form of Manchester City treble winner Ilkay Gundogan and a Ferran Torres equalizer, Xavi’s men nudged past the stern test presented to them by the Canary Islanders. Barca’s latest recruit Vitor Roque made his debut after a successful registration with the first team, but his introduction could have been sweeter provided he did not miss a sitter at the dying minutes, which could make the score line 3-1 in favor of Barca. With this win, Barca surpassed Atletico Madrid on the third spot, who went down against surprise leaders Girona in a thrilling 3-4 loss.
A strong line-up for both sides
FC Barcelona had gone with their strongest eleven in order to earn all three points from the Islanders. Xavi had started with his traditional 4-3-3 formation, having Lewandowski, Raphinha and Ferran spearheading the attack, followed by the midfield trident of De Jong, Roberto and Gundogan. The defense comprised all four veterans for Barca, having Cancelo, Balde on the wings with Araujo and Kounde on the central defense. For Las Palmas, former La Masia talent Munir started on the attack, as he had stabbed his former club at the back, thus scoring the opener.
Barca was pressing hard and was sticking to their style of going hard after the ball, but opening ten minutes were disaster for the defending champions, as Munir, a former Barca talent who used to be a regular with Messi and Suarez during his prime, poked the first goal for the hosts. Cancelo was subbed off after an apparent knee injury, and Los Amarillos pounced on this disadvantage of Barca. Two former Barca players in the form of Sandro Ramirez and Munir combined to score the opener, as they easily passed through the vulnerable Barca defense, with Sandro’s cross perfectly tapped in by Munir to score the lead for the hosts.
Ferran restores parity, Gundo scores winner
After being down to 0-1 within first 15 minutes, it became increasingly evident about the lacunae Barca were facing as a group. They needed to regroup in half-time break, before they decided to modify their plans, switching to play long balls over the high-line of Las Palmas defense, but the hosts perfectly employed their offside trap which helped them to maintain their lead at half-time.
Come the second half, Barca began to play with more desperation, pressing for the equalizer in a game which had so much in stake. They looked more dangerous and ten minutes into second half, Ferran Torres found the back of the net when a corner was failed to clear by the home team, with the “Shark” pouncing on this opportunity to score the equalizer, bringing both sides on level terms.
Xavi looked to his bench who would deliver the winning punch, as he included debutant Vitor Roque on the field, hoping for some miracle from the Brazilian prodigy. Joao Felix was subbed on and made an instant impact, when his shot was saved by Las Palmas keeper, with the rebound falling in front of seasoned midfielder Gundogan, who had the chance to hit the goal, but was shoved away by Sinkgraven, resulting in a harsh red card for the hosts, which opened the floodgates for Barca to score the winner, with referee pointing to a penalty. Former Manchester City legend Gundogan stepped up to take the spot-kick, and he made no mistake in slotting the ball to the net, thus giving the visitors a valuable three points, which caused a stir at the league table, with the Catalans surpassing Rojiblancos to grab the third spot.
Vitor Roque’s highly anticipated debut
Vitor Roque, the Brazilian prodigy made his highly anticipated debut after a tumultuous haste of his registration, and he made an instant impact with the ball. He was introduced on the field by Xavi, who hoped for a reinforcement into the attack, as his initial burst might have made Barca fans believe that he is in for the long term. He still needs practice and precision, as he missed two big chances, including one in the last minutes, but Xavi and board would not mind as the Brazilian brings with him a plethora of experience and game time, as he is expected to improve in the coming days.
