Las Palmas 1-2 Real Madrid: 5 talking points

Casemiro celebrates his winnerReal Madrid left it late, very late to get the job done against Las Palmas, as Casemiro scored an 89th-minute winner to give Zinedine Zidane’s side all three points at the Gran Canaria Stadium. Madrid took the lead via. a Sergio Ramos header after 24 minutes.Las Palmas created the better chances in an intense second half which saw a flurry of bookings dished out to players of both sides. Las Palmas thought they had snatched a point 3 minutes from time when ex-Real Madrid striker Willian Jose scored the equaliser, but midfielder Casemiro restored Los Blancos’ lead two minutes later with a header to break the Islanders’ hearts.The result leaves Real Madrid 12 points off leaders Barcelona with nine games to spare and the El Clasico coming up in three weeks’ time.We focus on the talking points that influenced an up-and-down encounter at the Gran Canaria:

#1 Alvaro Arbeloa gets a rare start

With La Liga out of Real Madrid’s trophy hopes this season, Zidane will use these games as a litmus test to test the match competitiveness of his players in the build-up to the Champions League fixtures.

One player under the radar was ex-Liverpool fullback Alvaro Arbeloa. The Spaniard, who has fallen way down the pecking order in recent months, earned a rare place in the starting line-up against the Canaries, replacing Marcelo at left-back.

He gave a good account of himself – completing most of his passes to send Isco and Bale on their way down the left wing. David Garcia struggled to compete with Arbeloa’s experience and had to confine himself to his defensive half for a good chunk of the game.

#2 Willian Jose and Momo miss glorious opportunities

When you play against Real Madrid, you have got to take chances that come your way. Ex-Real Madrid striker Willian Jose and midfielder Momo were guilty of exactly that very early in the game.

Willian Jose took advantage of some poor communication in the Real Marid defence to go through on goal, only to be brilliantly denied by Keylor Navas. Two minutes later, Momo pounced on a sloppy Luka Modric pass, but fired his shot wide!

These misses had to and indeed did prove to be very costly indeed for Las Palmas. However, they did link up to score Las Palmas’ equalizer, which was soon followed by Casemiro’s winner.

#3 A fiery second half

Ramos booked — Ramos was also booked by the referee

A slow game burst into life in the early periods of the second half, as both teams were looking to go for the kill. While Las Palmas were seeking to get their equaliser, Madrid were bidding to stamp their authority on their 15th placed hosts with a number of one-on-one clashes and some robust challenges.

The fracas in the early 15 minutes of the second period saw Isco and Pepe of Madrid and Pedro Bigas of Las Palmas go into the referee’s book within very quick succession. Isco was soon taken off and replaced by Mateo Kovacic, much to the displeasure of the Spaniard, who threw his coat to the ground in the dugout.

There was absolutely no love lost between the two sides as they entertained the fans with a memorable showdown right until the final whistle had gone. The game also saw Sergio Ramos go in the history books as the man to have picked up most red cards for Real Madrid, 19, after his sending off.

#4 Real Madrid need to be more ruthless away

What has worried Los Blancos fans this season is their sides’ indifferent form away from the Bernabeu. Though they haven’t lost in three months, a number of draws and narrow victories shows that Real Madrid have got to be more clinical with their finishing and determined to take the game to the opposition.

Yes, they have had injury problems – Gareth Bale has been out for a while and Karim Benzema is still sidelined – but that can be no excuse for Real Madrid, who are expected to field a team capable of putting bottom-half sides out of their sight.

Ronaldo’s frustration at being shut out, Bale’s lack of application on the wings and Luka Modric’s stray passing were characteristics of Real’s performance on Sunday. To win the Champions League, they will have to show a bit more urgency to unsettle opposition defences and look to finish off the plethora of chances their midfield creates.

#5 Las Palmas are defensively well drilled

What was very pleasing to see was how organised the Islanders were at the back. Quique Setien had a game plan prepared – to thwart any Real attack and double-man Ronaldo, which Bigas and Lemos did exceptionally well.

The fullbacks Garrido and Garcia too played a pivotal role in keeping Bale and Lucas Vazquez quiet. The fact that they didn’t concede even once from open play is credible enough and shows why they have the best defence amongst teams currently in the bottom 8. If they can maintain their shape until the end of the season, there’s no reason why they should comfortably retain their La Liga status for next season.