Article body analysed
A host of former Premier League stars brought an end to a 53-year Barcelona record on Saturday in a shock 2-1 win for Las Palmas. Spanish giants Barca welcomed the eagerly-awaited return of their superstar prospect Lamine Yamal following his ankle injury - but it was not the return he or his teammates wanted. The Euro 2024 star was only passed fit enough for the bench by boss Hansi Flick, and their lack of firepower showed as Las Palmas shocked the La Liga title race. On top of that, Barca hadn't lost at home to Las Palmas in over half a century, with that run now brought to an end. It was their first home loss to their opponents in 53 years, and there were some familiar faces to fans in England getting the job done. Ex-Everton man Sandro Ramirez opened the scoring for the visitors early in the second-half by firing into the bottom corner on the edge of the box. The forward previously made 16 appearances for the Toffees, netting just one goal during his three-year stint at Goodison Park. Ramirez's latest strike is the third of his career against Barcelona but Las Palmas' lead lasted just a matter of minutes. Another former Premier League star, Raphinha, equalised for the hosts with an equally impressive finish from outside the area that increased the ex-Leeds forward's season goal tally to 14. Barcelona failed to keep the scoreline level, though, as they conceded only six minutes after. This time it was Wolves loanee Fabio Silva who found the net with a brilliant finish, running into the path of an expertly guided ball from Javier Munoz before scoring past Barca No. 2 Jasper Cillessen. The 22-year-old signed for his Premier League parent side for a then club-record fee that's reported to be £35million. Silva was unable to make a real impact at the club following his move from Porto - his record for Wolves stands at five goals and six assists in 72 games - but has now scored five goals on loan for Las Palmas. Los Amarillos held onto their lead and claimed all three points thanks to their spirited squad, which featured other Premier League names you'd have heard before. Centre-back Scott Mc Kenna made 25 appearances in the English top flight for Nottingham Forest, though left for Spain in August. Substitute Oli Mc Burnie played 96 Premier League matches across spells with Swansea City and Sheffield United. Former Manchester United starlet Adnan Januzaj was also part of the travelling squad, but did not appear off the bench. Barcelona remain top of the La Liga table but their lead has been cut to four points ahead of Real Madrid, who have two games in hand. They are now winless in three league matches, although would have been pleased to see Yamal return to the pitch. He missed three matches during his spell on the sidelines having scored six and assisted another eight goals before his injury. Yamal replaced Pablo Torre for the second-half against Las Palmas but was unable to demonstrate his quality in front of goal. Raphinha, on the other hand, did and is likely to be the only positive that Barcelona can take away from their weekend defeat. The former Leeds star has been in stunning form this season with 23 goal contributions in all competitions. His goal on Saturday was his ninth in La Liga for the current campaign and has added to his six assists. Raphinha's combined efforts mean he has become only the second player to amass 15 or more contributions in the league this season with teammate Robert Lewandowski. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited
Registered in England No. 2806093. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF
talk SPORT is a registered trade mark of Wireless Group Media (GB) Limited.
This service is provided on talk SPORT Limited's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy.