Real Madrid could only salvage a draw on Thursday in their visit to Gran Canaria against UD Las Palmas (1-1), the same result they took from Mallorca in the first matchday, which is why they are now four points ahead of Barcelona, the sole leader of LaLiga EA Sports with a full nine points.
The white team was surprised in the first half by the Canary Islands team, who scored in the 5th minute through Alberto Moleiro, but reacted in the second half, although it only managed to equalize the score in the 69th minute with a penalty converted by Vinícius Júnior for a handball by Álex Suárez.
Carlo Ancelotti decided to rotate the team for the first time this season, but that was not the problem, but rather the lukewarm start of the Whites against a rival that showed a higher speed in all the actions, in all the duels.
The excessive relaxation had consequences very early on for Real Madrid: the Scottish international Oliver McBurnie combined on the left with Moleiro and between them they made a mess of a very contemplative defence. The Tenerife native entered the area, eliminated Aurelien Tchouamémi and Eder Militao, and crossed the ball with an accurate low shot that beat the stretching Thibaut Courtois.
With the score in their favour, the confidence of the Canary Islands team grew exponentially, with a novel system, a 1-4-1-4-1 in which Campaña acted as a defensive pivot.
Ancelotti’s men tried to combine inside, looking especially for Kylian Mbappé, who was well supported by Álex Suárez. Without finding the French star clearly, Real Madrid had the chance to equalise in the 25th minute with a free kick in the half-moon in which Jasper Cillesen made a great save from a very hard right-footed shot by Fede Valverde.
Ancelotti changed the formation, changed positions, placed Vinícius as a centre forward and Mbappé on the left wing, but Las Palmas, with a lot of help, closed all the paths.
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After the break, Rodrigo Goes came on for Brahim, and Fran García replaced Ferland Mendy, who was booked and outplayed by Marvin Park and Sandro in the first half, in a brief comeback after serving a suspension.
After a header missed by Tchouaméni from a corner, in another clear opportunity, and already with Arda Güler on the pitch, precisely one of the Turk’s actions was intercepted by Álex Suárez with his left arm extended, and the clear penalty was converted by Vinícius with a shot at medium height that Cillessen guessed, but did not reach.
In the opposing area and with the game open, a goal by Viti Rozada was disallowed for offside by his teammate Jaime Mata, while Madrid exhausted their last options with a header by Endrick that also missed the target.