Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona experienced its first home defeat of the season on Saturday, losing 2-1 to Las Palmas, which stunned the current leaders of La Liga.

Under the guidance of new coach Hansi Flick, Barcelona had been enjoying an impressive start to the season, with significant wins over rivals Real Madrid in domestic play and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The team maintained a perfect record by winning all eight of its home matches initially.

However, this latest defeat marks a troubling trend, as Barcelona has now gone three La Liga games without a victory. Prior to losing to Las Palmas, the club suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Real Sociedad and settled for a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo.

Real Madrid, despite facing its own challenges, particularly in the Champions League, now has the opportunity to overtake Barcelona in the league standings. Currently, Madrid trails Barcelona by four points but has played two additional games.

Sandro Ramirez and Fábio Silva were the goal scorers for Las Palmas, with Raphinha finding the net in between their strikes as Barcelona attempted to mount a comeback.

Compounding the team’s troubles, Lamine Yamal made his return from a three-week absence due to a right ankle injury, entering the game as a substitute at halftime. Despite his return, Barcelona was unable to find the back of the net consistently, with Las Palmas goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen making crucial saves, including deflecting a powerful free kick from Raphinha in the dying minutes of the match.