“La Liga”: Barcelona falls with the difficult diamond… and advances to third place
German international Ilkay Gundogan led his team, Barcelona, the defending champion, to a difficult victory over host Las Palmas, 2-1, after scoring a goal for them from a penalty kick in the third minute of stoppage time, within the nineteenth stage competitions on Thursday.
The Catalan team advanced to third place with 41 points, benefiting from Atletico Madrid’s loss at the hands of Girona in this stage 3-4, on Wednesday, as Rojiblancos fell to fifth place with 38 points, with a goal difference from Athletic Bilbao, which was fourth and won over struggling Sevilla 2-0 in the match. Which was also held Thursday.
On the other hand, Barcelona is four points behind Real Madrid, which leads on goal difference over Girona (48 points).
Moroccan Munir El Haddadi, the former Barcelona player, opened the scoring for Las Palmas (12), and Ferran Torres equalized the score for Barcelona (56), before Gundogan saved them from the equalizer trap with a fatal goal (90 + 3 from a penalty kick).
Coach Xavi Hernandez’s team entered the match in dire need of a win, especially after the wins of leaders Real and Girona on Wednesday.
But the course of the match did not smile at the Catalan club from the beginning, as the hosts were able to snatch a stunning lead through former Blaugrana striker Al-Haddadi following a perfect cross pass from Sandro Ramires (12).
Las Palmas’ lead goal came one minute after Portuguese Joao Cancelo left the match due to an injury he suffered in his left knee.
Barcelona was unable to find a way to respond, and the first half ended with a sudden deficit for the Spanish champion, until Torres was able to bring him back into the atmosphere of the match with the equalizing goal at the beginning of the second half (56).
Torres’ goal came after an error in clearing the ball from the Las Palmas defense, and the ball reached him and he shot it without a mistake into the home team’s goal.
Las Palmas almost regained the lead, but Mika Marmol’s header attempt went wide of the goal (77).
Xavi brought on Barcelona’s new Brazilian player, Vitor Roque (78), who came from Atletico Paranaense, and the 18-year-old looked in good shape in the minutes he played.
Barcelona won a penalty kick after a push by Dutchman Daley Sinkinggraven on Gundogan, which led to the former being expelled, before the German midfielder successfully took the kick, giving his team the win and the three points.
Roque missed a golden opportunity to score his first goal in a Barcelona shirt, but his attempt went wide of the goal following a pass from Portuguese Joao Felix (90+5).
For its part, Athletic Bilbao advanced to fourth place after defeating struggling host Sevilla 2-0. Bilbao’s goals were scored by Mikel Vesga (30th) and Aitor Paredes (76th).
The Basque team’s three points advanced it from fifth to fourth place, overtaking Atletico Madrid, with 38 points on goal difference over the latter.
On the other hand, Sevilla suffered its ninth loss this season, as it occupies sixteenth place with 16 points and remained winless for the second match in a row.
Barcelona can claim third place when it faces Las Palmas later.
Bilbao maintained its unbeaten record for the 11th consecutive match in various competitions since falling to Barcelona 0-1 on October 22nd.
The visitors opened the scoring through Vesga from a header following a cross pass from Iñigo Ruiz de Gallarita (30), before Paredes added the second goal with a right-footed shot from inside the area after Ander Herrera converted a perfect cross to him (76).
In another match, Osasuna beat Almeria, bottom of the standings, 1-0.
The only goal of the match was scored by Croatian Ante Budimir (27), bringing Osasuna to 22 points in 12th place, while Almeria continues to be in last place with 5 points and 11 points away from the safety zone.
2024-01-05 15:31:49
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