Las Palmas - Real Madrid live stream online: LaLiga 2018
Don't miss a minute of the action as Las Palmas welcome Real Madrid to the Estadio de Gran Canaria in week 30 of LaLiga action, kick-off at 18:30 CEST. Cruz Azul vs America: Liga MX, live online
Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 victory in Las Palmas to send Paco Jémez’s side deeper into the mire after Levante pulled further clear earlier in the day with Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema providing the goals on an afternoon where Zinedine Zidane’s side rarely looked like returning from the Canary Islands empty handed.
The home side started brightly, Jonathan Calleri going close and Alen Halilovic testing Keylor Navas and the opening 20 minutes were a fairly even affair as Jémez stood by his promise to go down swinging, if his side were to go down at all.
The former Rayo coach’s words were unintentionally prescient. Las Palmas will be practically relegated next weekend if they are beaten away at Levante and while swing they did in the early exchanges, his side crumbled after Bale galloped through the defence to place a shot past Leandro Chichizola.
Nacho injury the only blemish on Real's stroll
The visitors lost Nacho to injury during the first half, a story in itself as the ever-dependable utility man has never succumbed before in his entire senior career, but it was Las Palmas who would slowly fall away on the pitch after Real were awarded a fairly soft penalty when Lucas Vázquez went down in the area.
Benzema, making his 400th appearance for Madrid and wearing the captain’s armband, hit a textbook spot kick to make it 2-0 and from there the question was how many the home side would swallow on a day when the only pills available were of the bitter variety.
It wasn’t long after the break before Real made it three, Bale winning a penalty as he shaped to shoot as Ximo Navarro clattered into the Wales forward. Bale himself stepped up to bury his shot down the middle after sending Chichizola to his left and from there it was a case of all available men to the castle walls for Las Palmas as Real laid siege to their goal.
Benzema, with all the best intention, squared for Bale on the break when he could have shot himself and minutes later Chichizola made a stunning save from the Frenchman from two yards out. Benzema was to suffer more frustration in front of goal from open play – he has not found the net other than from the penalty spot since the middle of February – but it was Bale to who the better chances fell. A cut in from the right looked destined for a trademark into the far corner but curled wide and later, put through expertly by Vázquez, he managed to hit a left-footed shot into his right foot albeit under pressure from two defenders.
In the end Real had to settle for three but Zidane’s side, missing Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal from the usual starting XI, were still too good for a Las Palmas side who look to be headed for Segunda barring a miracle in the final weeks of the season.
Zidane, meanwhile, will consider the afternoon’s work a case of job done and will now set his focus on the more testing challenge of Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals next week.