Real Madrid vs Las Palmas, summary: Vinicius, score, goals & highlights | LaLiga EA Sports 2023-24
Real Madrid vs Las Palmas: as it happened
Signing off...
Thank you for following the game with us today, it was a pleasure.
Make sure to check out AS USA for all the latest news in the world of sport and beyond!
Joe
Who's up next for Real Madrid?
The next game for Los Blancos is a huge, top of the table clash against league leaders, Girona!
It will take place on Saturday 30 September at 12.30 p.m. ET/09.30 a.m. PT.and you canfollow the game live on AS USA.
Vini returned to the Bernabéu
I might be overreacting, but I felt a sense of confidence and joy return to the Bernabéu pitch as soon as Vini Jr stepped over the white line.
Let's see how Real Madrid get on in their next game, but the return of the Brazilian can only be a positive.
Cargando...
Brahim's post-game interview:
The team looked good, we played well.
I was calm in that moment, Lucas gave me a great pass. I had the patience to find the space and I'm very happy to score.
It's incredible to score, it's an honour. You can't really talk about it because it's so unique. Scoring my first goal of the season here, in my home, is amazing.
I tried to create overloads, moving short and into space.
Thanks to the fans, I had a warm welcome, I'm happy to play here for this team.
We should have scored more, but we played a complete game. After a loss, it's nice to win.
Full-time thoughts:
A heavily changed Real Madrid XI, with both Bellingham and Vinicius on the bench, comfortably won against a Las Palmas side who seemed to have all the luck of the football gods in the first half, which saw a million chances for the home side go begging.
Valles in the Las Palmas goal almost became the most famous man in football after his spectacular performance saw Real Madrid find him with every shot on goal.
The home side constantly got in behind with Rodrygo, Joselu and Brahim but nothing was getting past the man between the sticks, until the ex-Manchester City man struck on the stroke of half-time after sweeping the ball in the net from a Lucas cross.
The second half began and it started off in perfect fashion, with Joselu finally managing to send the ball past the goalkeeper with his head.
The goal was coupled with the return of Vini Jr, who changed the way Madrid played as the confidence slowly came back into the side that began to realise they were hugely superior to the island team.
By the end, it felt incredibly comfortable for Madrid, who will be delighted with the way they kept Las Palmas to virtually no chances. The smiles are back at the Bernabéu.
Full-time at the Santiago Bernabéu!
Real Madrid return to winning ways in what was a very comfortable game in the end.
Las Palmas launch a few late attempts at finding the goal, but the best effort comes from Marvin on the right, who hits row Q in tier 4 with his shot.
Madrid take their time with a free-kick in their own box after Ceballos goes to ground. More time off the clock and more time for the fans to belt out their full song book, which is exactly what's happening.
3 added minutes.
We're into the final minute of normal time. Madrid are still controlling possession from front to back.
Rodrygo is called offside (again) but I don't think anyone cares, as they're all busy picking themselves off the floor after some simply stunning skills from Vinicius Jr who has brought the party with him.
Perrone opens his body to shoot from the edge of the box but the ball appears to turn into one bought from a Málaga beach front and flies wildly with the wind. Yes, let's blame the wind...
Flicks, spins and smile are back on the faces of those in a white shirt as we approach the final five at the Bernabéu...
A very loud 'oooo' comes from the crowd when Rodrygo nearly slides in to take the ball from the Las Palmas goalkeeper. Madrid are in complete control now, and and slowly sliding down the energy levers as the clock ticks on.
Ten minutes to go.
Madrid have moved into a 4-4-2, with Rodrygo and Vini Jr up front and a line of Ceballos, Kroos, Fede and Tchouaméni making up the midfield.
The first card of the game goes to Coco, Las Palmas' centre-back, for a foul on Valverde.
Loiodice & Perrone ON
Viera & Moñoz OFF
Kroos & Fran García ON
Camavinga & Mendy OFF
After a long spell of mesmerising possession for Los Blancos, it's the Frenchman who breaks the lines with a Modric-esque shuttle run before slashing the ball wide of the far post from the right side.
TCHOUAMÉNI FIRES WIDE
Kepa saves Kirian's long-range effort that was hit from the left at a comfortable height to catch.
Lucas' cross from the right is cleared but Madrid are looking incredibly comfortable now.
Especially Camavinga, who has started to dictate things in all areas of the pitch. He's getting back to defend and forward to contribute on the edge of the Las Palmas box, where the majority of the action is happening.
Rodrygo is called offside after a delightful move from Camavinga in the middle of the pitch, who halted the rotation of both his spin and the entire planet to send the defenders flying, opening the space for Rodrygo to be played in. Unfortunately for him, he was ever so slightly offside.
Las Palmas have just started to tap the ball around in the middle third, forcing Madrid back every so slightly.
It does mean, however, that the strikers have a lot of room behind the away side's defence to burst into. One to keep an eye on, perhaps.
All of a sudden, this potentially tricky game has a totally different feel: Madrid's second goal has calmed the nerves and removed any worry about a possible comeback from the away team, while the return of Vinicius has everyone on their feet.
Vini Jr gets his first touches and sends shivers down the spines of the defenders in yellow: he bursts in behind, moves left, right then left again, twisting the ribcage of Araujo before seeing his shot blocked from close range. The Bernabéu applauds furiously, they've missed him a lot.
Madrid have moved to a 4-3-3, with Rodrygo at the top, Vinicius on the left and Valverde on the right. In midfield we've got Tchouaméni, Camavinga and Ceballos.
Yes, if you're wondering about Marvin, it is the ex-Real Madrid Castilla full-back.
Marvin ON
Sory Kaba OFF
Correction:
It's Joselu who comes off and not Rodrygo, the referee on the touchline got the number wrong.
Ceballos & Vini Jr ON
Rodrygo & Brahim OFF
Rodrygo breaks down the left, where is given time and space to edge his way towards the corner of the area.
The Brazilian, with his left foot, floats a cross onto the edge of the 6-yard-box and the ex-Espanyol striker flicks his hair to the right, sending the ball to the far post and past the goalkeeper!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
JOSELU SCORES OUT OF NOWHERE
I wrote this in the first half, but it feels like Real Madrid are playing at about 50-60% of what they are capable of: they feel very comfortable as Las Palmas have posed little to no threat, but the scoreline is indeed only 1-0.
Six yellow shirts are inside the box as Mendy crosses from the left. And a grand total of zero white shirts are there as they all watch on from a distance. Carlo Ancelotti spins around in frustration.
Munir gets on the ball in a dangerous area on the edge of the box as it's cut back from the right, but he takes one touch too many and allows his shot to be covered and blocked.
Real Madrid attack on the right with a mixture of passes between Lucas, Valverde and Tchouaméni, who eventually plays in a cross towards the back post that is caught by Valles.
Vini Jr has left the dugout to warm up - what a noise inside the stadium!
And we're off!
Real Madrid get us going for the second half.
Kirian Rodríguez & Cardona ON
Mfulu & Sinkgraven OFF
Here come the players!
Almost ready to go for the second half...
Alaba injury update:
The news is that Alaba has injured his right abductor muscle.
Rodrygo has been at the heart of everything Madrid have done
Unfortunately for the Brazilian, his run of not scoring when there's no Vini (4 games) continues, but maybe we'll see that change after the break.
Cargando...
The bench is smiling after that goal!
Will we see these two in the second half?
Cargando...
Half-time thoughts:
Well, it's hard to say Real Madrid don't deserve to be ahead, given the fact that they've racked up 1.69xG in 45 minutes of play. That was like smacking a piñata made of steel.
However, their wastefulness in front of goal has gone from the shocking to the hilarious at times this half, with absolutely nothing getting past Valles in goal until that late Brahim strike.
Joselu, Brahim and Rodrygo could each have 3 goals from the clear chances they have continuously put wide or within range for Valles to save. The Las Palmas goalkeeper has had a sublime game, but my oh my, Real Madrid have certainly given him the opportunity to make him the most famous man in Spain.
Half time!
That's all for now! Madrid go into the game with a slim lead, which you have to say they deserve.
Lucas receives the ball on the right as a Madrid corner is cleared. The full-back puts the low cross onto the penalty spot and it lands at the feet of Brahim, who takes a touch and swipes the ball with his right foot into the top left corner!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
BRAHIM BREAKS THE DEADLOCK
2 added minutes.
Camavinga breaks through the middle and plays left to Joselu, who smacks a low shot across goal that hits Valles on the leg.
Carlo is going to be as bald as Zizou by the end of this game.
Copy + paste: Joselu shot saved by Valles.
This time it's Joselu, who gets on the end of a Fede ball from the right after he burns forward 30 yards, but Valles gets in front of him and saves the shot superbly well from a few yards out.
ANOTHER CHANCE MISSED BY MADRID
A lopping cross from Camavinga out on the left feels like a rushed move, a last resort for a player with no options around him.
Joselu leaps but Valles catches.
Madrid, after 11shots, have a grand total of 0.98xG. But no real goals.
Lucas Vázquez ON
Alaba OFF
Nacho moves into centre-back.
Alaba heads straight down the tunnel...
Uh, oh. Alaba is on the floor...
Mendy's low cross from the left is cleared away as Rodrygo and Joselu wait for each other to get a toe on the ball.
Viera breaks down the left and it takes a Rüdiger shove inside the box to see the ball collected by Kepa. Nerves from the home crowd.
I'll explain: no less than 4 Real Madrid players, all inside the box with 11 Las Palmas players pinned back towards goal, opt out of shooting and testing the goalkeeper.
Rodrygo takes the ball and makes a curving run sideways round the penalty spot before laying off to Nacho, who crosses to the far post.
Mendy gets on the end of it on the left side, plays it to Fede who is overlapping, and the cross is sent to Rodrygo, who smashes the ball wide.
Nacho then spoons a terrible effort from a yard out at a perfect height for the goalkeeper to save.
NACHO CHANCE SAVED!!!
Seriously, are they allowed to score?!
RODRYGO MISSES A HUGE CHANCE AGAIN
Madrid break dangerously after a half-hearted attempt from Las Palmas to press and Fede sprints down the middle of the pitch.
As the yellow shorts race back to defend, the white shirts in the crowd stand up in anticipation of the Uruguayan's proximity to goal, but the pass to the left towards Rodrygo is horribly mistimed and way too heavy, and the ball rolls out of play.
Madrid move forward again and Rodrygo wants a handball for a touch by Coco, but it seems that the defender was moving his arm behind his back when the chip from the Brazilian touched him.
0.57 xG for Real Madrid so far...
AND AGAIN (this one is offside).
Brahim gets in behind and chips a terrible shot that spins wide of the goal from the right side of the box. Well, at least from a Real Madrid point of view, the chances are there...
The ball is played through Las Palmas' high line by Joselu to the forward who is all on his own with only the goalkeeper ahead of him.
Brahim runs towards goal and takes one touch too many, allowing Valles to crash out of goal and clear the glaring chance!
Oh my... Real Madrid simply cannot score!
WHAT A CHANCE MISSED BY BRAHIM
Sqeaks, giggles, growls and groans from the crowd as Cubelo who, with Rodrygo on his back, takes the ball for a walk inside the 6-yard-box next to his own goal. Eventually he realises the madness of his decision and slaps a boot at the ball, sending it into orbit.
Another good save from the Las Palmas goalkeeper, who got in front of a shot from Joselu on the left side of the box. Madrid are finding spaces behind the Las Palmas defence...
Ah, Joselu was offside. It wouldn't have counted...
Brahim opens the play on the right to Valverde, who smashes a furious diagonal ball across the face of goal to Joselu. The Spaniard dives in, gets a toe on the ball and Valles manages to stop the shot from going over the line!
WHAT A SAVE FROM VALLES
Las Palmas defender Coco fires a Saturn V rocket over the bar from a mega-long-range-free-kick. No idea why he decided to shoot - must have scored a belter in training this week.
Groans from the Bernabéu crowd after Valverde gets the ball on the right corner of the box with a chance to shoot.
He takes one touch, then another, then another... then passes wide to Joselu, who is offside.
Cubelo clears after Real Madrid make a move forward and the ball is whipped in low by Mendy from the left; Joselu was sliding in behind.
A little bit of nice possession from the away side is soon given up after a smooth interception from Alaba on the left side, right on the halfway line.
The opening ten minutes of the game has felt a bit flat from both sides, if I'm honest. Las Palmas are not going at Real Madrid, but the home side are not playing past 60%...
Viera gets Las Palmas' first shot of the game, which is a speculative effort from distance that's blocked by Rüdiger.
A ball from the right is fizzed across goal by Brahim towards Joselu but the referee pulls it back for offside.
Las Palmas' first chance to hoof the ball into the Madrid box comes from a long free-kick and is easily dealt with by Los Blancos.
A fantastic chance for the home side: Brahim steals the ball from Mfulu near the corner flag and lays it off to Joselu, who smacks it square across goal towards Rodrygo. A low shot is fired into the legs of Valle from the penalty spot in what is a brilliant save (although I think the shot was a little central, as the Brazilian seemed to rush his movement to strike).
HUGE SAVE FROM VALLES
Joselu can't get his toe on the looping ball as it's played over the top, which sees it bounce into the grateful grasp of Valles in the Las Palmas goal.
Real Madrid are starting the game off with the possession as Las Palmas sit in a 4-5-1, as we expected.
A long ball from the back tries to find Brahim, but it's headed away.
Right away, we can see it's a 4-3-1-2 from Real Madrid, with Brahim in the middle. There had been late rumours of a 4-3-3, but you should never listen to rumours.
The first action of the game is Camavinga being jumped on by Coco and the Frenchman slams to the ground.
And we're off!
Las Palmas get us going from right to left.
Here come the teams!
Finally we have the two teams on the pitch! And what a noise inside the stadium!
You're telling us!
We're still waiting for the full starting teams to make their way onto the pitch!
Cargando...
So, let's see how Real Madrid react...
The teams are in the tunnel ready to step out onto the pitch - will we see a reaction from Carlo Ancelotti's side?
Fifteen minutes to go!
The warmups are done and dusted, meaning we're almost ready to go!
A reminder of the starting XIs:
If you've just joined us... welcome! Here are the two starting XIs for the game.
REAL MADRID [4-3-1-2]:
GK: Kepa
DEF: Nacho - Rüdiger - Alaba - Mendy
MID: Tchouaméni - Camavinga - Valverde
ATM: Brahim
ST: Joselu - Rodrygo
UD LAS PALMAS [4-5-1]:
GK: Valles
DEF: Sinkgraven - Coco - Cubelo - Araujo
MID: Herrera - Viera - Mfulu - Muñoz - Munir
ATT: Sory Kaba
The warmups are underway...
And let me tell you something: the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is filling up with plenty of yellow shirts ahead of kick-off, which is just around 25 minutes away!
Cargando...
Brahim gets a rare start for Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane was the manager the last time Brahim started a game for Real Madrid. Since then, he's played 91 matches... for AC Milan, where he scored 13 goals.
The Málaga and Manchester City graduate has never had a full opportunity to shine for Los Blancos, but his late appearances against both Union Berlin and Atlético Madrid have shown the fans - and Carlo - just what he is capable of: Brahim has been a bright spark in a dark week for Madrid.
Cargando...
While we wait for kick-off, check out the hilarious video of Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson fooling around with Real Madrid's Vini Jr.
The NFL shared this video on social media in which the two play soccer together.
More pre-game Carlo quotes:
Every team has their own characteristics and Las Palmas play football well. They have quality. We are thinking about winning, about reacting quickly after Sunday.
The diamond isn’t perfect, but the 4-3-3 isn’t either. Every setup has weaknesses. The diamond allows you to press higher, to be more energetic, but it can allow you to end up out of shape for crosses, because the midfielders don’t always get back. We are working on it, the problem is obvious and it can be fixed.
Five of seven goals have been conceded in the first 20 minutes, how can that be worked on?
Showing that it is something that has happened too many times. We have to change our attitude in the opening minutes, we know.
Modric could play that position [top of the diamond] without a problem and as for Bellingham, I only changed the defensive idea, as in attack he had to do the same thing. I don’t think I changed that much (against Atlético).
Real Madrid's dressing room is ready!
The white shirts are folded and all in order in the home dressing room, which will be full of players shortly when the team arrive at the ground.
Who are you looking forward to seeing today? Get in touch on Twitter/X with @English_AS
Cargando...
Here's how the table looks:
After that slip-up at the weekend, Real Madrid sit third in LaLiga, behind Catalan sides Girona and FC Barcelona, who drew 2-2 with Mallorca yesterday.
A win would see Carlo Ancelotti's side go back to the top of the league, and a draw would see them move a point behind their eternal rivals.
Another loss, however, and Athletic Club would have the chance to leapfrog the side from the capital, so they can't afford a stumble at the Bernabéu.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Here's confirmation of UDLP's XI:
It's a lot of changes for García Pimienta's side today, with a total of seven players coming in from the XI that beat Granada 1-0 at the weekend with a late goal from Kirian Rodríguez.
Cargando...
Javier Soriano / AFP
Who's the ref?
José Luis Munuera Montero is the referee for the game today.
The 39-year-old is already a seasoned pro at the top level, with almost 150 LaLiga matches under his belt.
He averages around 5 yellows a game and just under half a red per 90.
Las Palmas starting XI:
UDLP Manager García Pimienta has gone with what looks like a 4-5-1 for the game:
GK: Valles
DEF: Sinkgraven - Coco - Cubelo - Araujo
MID: Herrera - Viera - Mfulu - Muñoz - Haddadi
ATT: Sory Kaba
The away dressing room is ready to go!
Here's a sneak peak inside the Real Madrid away dressing room, which is going to be a very yellow affair this evening!
Cargando...
Why are so many people worried about Real Madrid already?
Let's start things off from the beginning. In the summer, Real Madrid lost Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema and chose not to replace him, with Carlo Ancelotti asking for Harry Kane as a substitute.
Kane went to Bayern and Real Madrid turned their attention to Kylian Mbappé once again, following him all summer.
Mbappé stayed at PSG, and Real Madrid were left with the option of Joselu, who is not Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema or Harry Kane. As a result, Ancelotti has moved away from his 4-3-3 and gone with a 4-3-1-2 with Bellingham behind Vini Jr and Rodrygo.
Now, this system has looked just about OK... until the first big game of the season, against Atlético Madrid, where Los Blancos were whooped 3-1 and looked like they had more holes in them than one of my Uncle John's socks.
This results has put huge pressure on Carlo, Modric and Kroos (who were overrun) as well as the entire squad planning over the summer.
Basically, Madrid need to react.
Carlo changes things up...
Fivechanges have been made in the Madrid XI:
Lucas, Modric, Kroos, Fran García and Bellingham have all been dropped from the team.
Shock Madrid XI revealed!
Wow, safe to say we didn't see that one coming!
Bellingham has been dropped to the bench as Joselu starts alongside Rodrygo... and Brahim!
GK: Kepa
DEF: Nacho - Rüdiger - Alaba - Mendy
MID: Tchouaméni - Valverde - Camavinga
ATM: Brahim
ST: Joselu - Rodrygo
Cargando...
Team news: UD Las Palmas
Defender Mika Marmol will miss the trip due to a suspension.
Alberto Moleiro (muscle), Fabio González (ankle), Sandro (muscle) and Benito Ramirez (thigh) remain in the recovery room.
Fancy watching the game as well as following with AS USA?
Well, you're in luck. Here's everything you need to know if you want to watch Real Madrid against Las Palmas in LaLiga 2023/24.
Carlo Ancelotti pre-match highlights:
We have seen the goals we conceded and we know that we should have been more decisive. Both in terms of not letting the crosses come in as well as getting people into the box.
It’s hard for us to control the wings, especially in our half. And it’s something we need to work on, to correct. It’s something we saw in pre-season, but in the league it was working: we had conceded just 3 goals until the derby. But there we forgot what to do.
The errors that young coaches make is that they give too much information, with the ball, to the players. And as for myself, as I’m from the old school, I give more freedom and creativity. Without the ball, everything has to be done with effort and concentration. But with the ball things have to be done creatively. If they want to go out wide and attack from the wings, I’m never going to say anything to them. I don’t want to put a lid on the creativity of anyone.
Kepa has my total confidence, he’s a fantastic goalkeeper and is doing excellently well. The three goals in the derby were everyone’s fault. I don’t like the point fingers and even less so at him, he couldn’t do anything.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti welcomes Dani Carvajal and Vinícius Júnior back to Los Blancos’ squad for the LaLiga matchday seven game.
Here's how we think Real Madrid will line up, but given the turbulent weekend they've had, we could be in store for some big changes.
Team news: Real Madrid
Before we get into the specifics, let me update you with the team news.
Vini Jr remains the big question markas Carlo got the winger back for the game against Atlético, but he was quickly ruled out with illness. He should, however, be OK to see at least some minutes today.
Carvajal has returned to the squad after suffering another injury.
Arda Gúler didn't have such luck. The Turkish delight finally came back after a long spell on the sideline but a pesky hamstring strain has seen him return to the physio room.
Apart from those two, it's the usual suspects - Courtois and Militão - who remain unavailable.
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the ASUSAlivecoverage of LaLiga EA Sports today.
We're here to bring you a cracker of a game: Real Madrid vs Las Palmas!
Will Los Blancos be able to turn their fortunes around or will the islanders manage to upset the odds and keep the sad faces lingering around the Santiago Bernabéu?
It's Joe here to guide you through the build up as well as the action, which begins at at 1p.m. ET / 10a.m. PT.