Las Palmas 1-2 Barcelona: Late Gundogan penalty snatches win for Barca against stubborn hosts

Barcelona faced familiar problems in their first match of 2024, continuing their defensive struggles from the previous year. The team had already conceded more goals in this season than in the entire last campaign, so it was no surprise when they fell behind early. Former players Sandro Ramirez and Munir El Haddadi combined to give Las Palmas a surprise lead.

Rather than responding with urgency, Barcelona seemed lackluster, allowing Las Palmas to maintain control and search for a second goal. They came close when Javier Munoz unleashed a powerful shot, but goalkeeper Iñaki Peña made a brilliant save, with Sandro's follow-up hitting the post.

Barcelona must have felt relieved to reach halftime with only a one-goal deficit. Whatever Xavi said during the break seemed to have an impact, as Raphinha came close to equalizing shortly after the restart.

The pressure on Las Palmas' goal continued to mount, and eventually, Ferran Torres capitalized on a fortunate bounce to score the equalizer. However, instead of pushing for a winner, Barcelona seemed to lose momentum, and manager Xavi made the surprising decision to substitute Robert Lewandowski, despite needing a victory to keep up with the top teams in LaLiga.

One of the substitutes, Vitor Roque, almost justified Xavi's decision with a chance created from an under-hit back pass. However, Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles quickly reacted to prevent a goal.

In the end, Barcelona managed to secure a late winner when Daley Sinkgraven fouled Ilkay Gundogan in the penalty area, resulting in a red card for the Las Palmas player.

The German player brushed off the dust from his clothes and calmly scored the penalty, guaranteeing that the Catalan giants stay close to the leading teams in LaLiga.