Real Madrid recovered on Wednesday evening from the lost city derby against Atlético Madrid last weekend. The Royal was too strong for Las Palmas at home with 2-0, although the best news of the evening was perhaps the return of Vinícius Júnior. The Brazilian made his return after more than a month of injuries. Brahim Díaz and Joselu fired Real to victory.
Carlo Ancelotti hoped to have Arda Güler available again on Wednesday evening. The Turkish top talent was declared fit enough on Tuesday to participate in the final training, but suffered a muscle injury in the last part and will be out for at least three weeks. A big loss for Ancelotti, who changed five positions in the starting team the Royal compared to the match against Atlético (3-1 loss). Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, among others, were on the bench against Las Palmas.
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Real Madrid takes the lead through Brahim Díaz ?? The tough Las Palmas offered a lot of resistance, but this ball was unstoppable!#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #RealMadridLasPalmas pic.twitter.com/9OzhpkDaoQ— Ziggo Sport Voetbal (@ZS_Voetbal) September 27, 2023
Real immediately wanted to impose their will on the visitors in the opening phase of the match. Rodrygo, Nacho Fernández and Joselu, among others, attacked the enemy goal three times without scoring. Persistence wins, as was evident on Wednesday evening, as the home team still took the lead just before half time. Federico Valverde saw his pass end up with Lucas Vázquez with some luck. The Spaniard then kept an overview and passed the ball to Díaz, who was ready at the penalty spot. The latter took it easy at first before he hit the ball hard into the intersection: 1-0.
The second goal came more than ten minutes after halftime and was scored by Joselu. Rodrygo brought the Stuttgart-born Spaniard into position with a fine cross and saw how the latter headed the ball into the far corner: 2-0. Vinícius came on for the accurate striker a few minutes later, making his first minutes since the end of August. In the meantime, the agile dribbler missed four games due to a thigh injury. Bellingham and Modric remained on the bench for the entire ninety minutes. No more goals were scored in the final phase, meaning Real moved back over FC Barcelona in the rankings. The Royal is now in second place, one point behind leader Girona.
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Joselu hits the ball with his head and finds the net! Thanks in part to Rodrygo’s perfect assist, Madrid enjoys a 2-0 lead ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #RealMadridLasPalmas pic.twitter.com/igVUuni7hL— Ziggo Sport Voetbal (@ZS_Voetbal) September 27, 2023
| No. | Team | M | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| 2 | Girona | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 16 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| 4 | Athletic Club | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 13 |
| 5 | Atlético Madrid | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| 6 | Valencia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | Rayo Vallecano | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 10 |
| 8 | Real Sociedad | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 9 | Cadiz | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 8 |
| 10 | Real Betis | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -5 | 8 |
| 11 | Seville | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 12 | Osasuna | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 7 |
| 13 | Villarreal | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 7 |
| 14 | Getafe | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 7 |
| 15 | Real Mallorca | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -3 | 6 |
| 16 | Alaves | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 6 |
| 17 | Las Palmas | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 5 |
| 18 | Celta de Vigo | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 4 |
| 19 | Granada | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -8 | 3 |
| 20 | Almeria | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -10 | 2 |