UD Las Palmas 1-1 FC Barcelona: 5 Talking Points
Score: UD Las Palmas 1-1 FC Barcelona
Goalscorers: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 21'; Jonathan Calleri (Las Palmas) 48'
FC Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw in the Canary Islands in a starkly different performance from the weekend which saw them thrashing Girona 6-1. Lionel Messi opened the scoring for the visitors with a neatly struck free-kick to register his 23rd La Liga goal of the campaign.
Three minutes into the second half, Las Palmas were awarded a contentious penalty which was converted expertly by Jonathan Calleri. A point was well earned by the Canaries whereas FC Barcelona were made to pay for taking their foot off the gas in this one.
On that note, let's delve into the match in further detail and extract what we learned from the 1-1 draw at the Estadio de Gran Canaria.
#5 UD Las Palmas get their survival bid back on track
Las Palmas went into this game winless in the league against Barcelona in their last 13 attempts. With Las Palmas struggling in the relegation zone at the moment, this match had an easy three points written for Barcelona all over it.
But Las Palmas showed more intent and application on the night and as a matter of fact, wanted a result from this game more than Barcelona. Oghenekaro Etebo dominated the midfield whereas Alen Halilovic had a point to prove against his former side.
With this result, Las Palmas are now tied on 20 points with Levante who are 17th and currently safe in the league table. This is just the right kind of result against a top team that may ignite the fire for the Canaries to mount a survival bid.
Levante have ties remaining against Sevilla and Barcelona remaining whereas Las Palmas only have a game against Real Madrid to fend off from the higher echelons of the league which will give further hope to the Canaries.