Barcelona’s 125th Anniversary Turned Sour with Las Palmas Loss

Barcelona’s 125th anniversary celebrations were overshadowed by a surprise defeat at home to struggling Las Palmas. The match started poorly for the hosts as former Barca striker Sandro opened the scoring for Las Palmas with a low strike that evoked boos from the home crowd. However, Barcelona responded through captain Raphinha, who equalized with a powerful low drive.

Las Palmas regained the lead when Wolves loanee Fabio Silva netted his fifth goal of the season, finishing a superb pass from Javi Munoz into the bottom corner. The loss left Barcelona winless in their last three league matches and Las Palmas climbed to 14th in the standings. The result also allowed Real Madrid to close the gap at the top of La Liga with a win over Getafe potentially cutting Barcelona’s lead to just one point.

Barcelona had a tough night despite dominating possession, registering 26 shots, their highest tally of the season. However, they failed to break down Las Palmas’ defense, with goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen making a brilliant save to deny Raphinha’s free-kick and further attempts from Ferran Torres and Pablo Torre.

The match also saw a blow to Barcelona’s lineup when Alejandro Balde was stretchered off in the 26th minute after a collision with Sandro. The defeat marked Barcelona’s first loss to Las Palmas at home since September 1971, a disappointing result for the Catalan giants as they celebrated their historic anniversary.