The reigning La Liga champions were atrocious in the first 45 but managed to fight back in the second half with some late drama
A scrappy goal from Ferran Torres and a moment of stupidity from Las Palmas' Daley Sinkgraven saw Barcelona secure a 2-1 win despite a massively underwhelming performance from Xavi's team. The visitors were woeful for large spells of the game, looking particularly lame and uninspired for the entirety of the first half before finally finding some bravery in the second period.
They fell behind just 12 minutes in when two of their former players combined to give Las Palmas the lead. Sandro Ramirez's low ball into the box found Munir El Haddadi, who beat Inaki Pena to it and slotted in, and the home side were worthy of the advantage.
Las Palmas' midfield overran their counterparts as Sergi Roberto and Ilkay Gundogan took too long to get into the game, though Frenkie de Jong was comfortable and played some useful balls behind the high back line. Unfortunately, Roberto Lewandowski, Raphinha and Torres had no luck until the latter rolled in the equaliser in the 55th minute.
The goal sparked the away team into life and they managed to impose their game on Las Palmas a lot more. Yet Barcelona have to wait until stoppage time to get the win, when Sinkgraven pushed Gundogan, earning a red card and giving away a penalty, which the German converted.
A huge win for the Catalan club, but Xavi has a lot of issues to sort out considering so many of his players underwhelmed. Lewandowski in particular was barely involved while the early injury to Joao Cancelo will be a huge concern for the coach.
GOAL rates Barcelona's players from Estadio de Gran Canaria…
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Inaki Pena (6/10):
Beaten to the ball by Munir for the opener and hardly looked convincing, though he did make a few saves.
Joao Cancelo (N/A):
Lasted just 10 minutes as he went off with an injury after challenging for the ball.
Ronald Araujo (6/10):
Too far behind Munir for the goal and, although he carried the ball forward well at times, his passing was often either too light or poorly timed.
Jules Kounde (5/10):
Switched to right-back after Cancelo went off but not as useful high up the field as the Portuguese promised to be in the early moments.
Alejandro Balde (5/10):
Offered no defensive protection as he was nowhere to be seen when Ramirez sent the ball into the box for Munir to score the first. Pushed high up as an attacking outlet but not much worked out.
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Frenkie de Jong (7/10):
Perhaps should have been tighter to Ramirez before the first assist but he did make a few important tackles. Also made some good passes over the top to send it into the space behind the defence.
Ilkay Gundogan (5/10):
A bit too slow at times and, while his passing was accurate, he couldn't provide any real spark but got the vital goal when he converted from the penalty spot.
Sergi Roberto (6/10):
Not involved enough in the first half despite his attempts to get in behind the high Las Palmas back line but set up the equaliser.
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Raphinha (6/10):
Tried his best to get involved with some quick runs down the wing but was a dead end until he got going in the second half.
Robert Lewandowski (3/10):
Barely involved for the most part and his first attempts to threaten were awful.
Ferran Torres (5/10):
Hopeless on the ball in a disconnected front three for the entirety of the first half but much improved in the second as he managed to get the equaliser and provide more solutions.
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Andreas Christensen (6/10):
Strong in the air but didn't look great up against a quick attack – played Munir onside for the goal.
Lamine Yamal (5/10):
Replaced Raphinha for the final 20 minutes and picked up a booking for a late challenge.
Joao Felix (6/10):
Came on for Lewandowski and had one or two more dangerous moments – an upgrade on the Polish striker,
Vitor Roque (7/10):
Promising debut! Almost had a chance immediately after coming off and will be gutted not to have scored from two great chances in the dying seconds.
Fermin Lopez (5/10):
Brought on at the same time as the Brazilian and put in some fight in midfield.
Xavi (6/10):
His team were much better in the second half but there will be a lot of questions following a dismal first 45 minutes that saw his team fall behind and lack any real fight.