Forgotten Premier League stars shock Barcelona as Las Palmas ruin Lamine Yamal's return
A host of former Premier League stars secured Las Palmas a shock 2-1 victory against Barcelona on Saturday.
spanish giants Barça welcomed the long-awaited return of its superstar prospect Lamina Yamal after his ankle injury, but it was not the return that he and his teammates wanted.
The Euro 2024 star was only approved by boss Hansi Flick fit to be on the bench, and his lack of firepower was shown as The Palms They surprised the race for the LaLiga title with an away victory.
Former Everton player Sandro Ramírez opened the scoring for the visitors early in the second half with a shot into the bottom corner on the edge of the area.
The forward previously made 16 appearances for the Toffees, scoring just one goal during his three years at Goodison Park.
Ramírez's latest goal is the third of his career against Barcelona, but Las Palmas' lead lasted only a few minutes.
Another former Premier League star, Raphinha, equalized for the hosts with an equally impressive finish from outside the box that increased the former Leeds striker's season goal total to 14.
However, Barcelona failed to keep the score level, conceding just six minutes later.
This time it was Wolves loanee Fabio Silva who found the net with a brilliant finish, finding himself in the path of an expertly guided ball from Javier Muñoz before slotting past Barça's number 2, Jasper Cillessen.
The 22-year-old signed for his first division part of the parents for a club record fee reportedly worth £35 million.
Silva was unable to make a real impact at the club following his departure from Porto (his record for Wolves is five goals and six assists in 72 games), but he has now scored five goals on loan for Las Palmas.
The Yellows maintained their lead and took the three points thanks to their energetic team, which included other Premier League names you would have heard before.
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Centre-back Scott McKenna played 25 games in the English top flight for Nottingham Forest, although he left for Spain in August.
Substitute Oli McBurnie played 96 Premier League games between Swansea City and Sheffield United.
Former Manchester United star Adnan Januzaj was also part of the traveling squad, but did not appear from the bench.
Barcelona remain at the top of the LaLiga table, but their lead has been reduced to four points ahead of Real Madrid, who have two games in hand.
They have now gone three league games without a win, although they would have liked to see Yamal return to the field.
He missed three games during his time on the sidelines, having scored six and assisted a further eight before his injury.
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Yamal replaced Pablo Torre in the second half against Las Palmas but could not demonstrate his quality in front of goal.
Raphinha, on the other hand, was and probably will be the only positive Barcelona can take from their weekend defeat.
The former Leeds star has been in impressive form this season with 23 goals in all competitions.
His goal this Saturday was his ninth in LaLiga this season and adds to his six assists.
Raphinha's combined efforts mean he has become just the second player to amass 15 or more contributions in the league this season alongside teammate Robert Lewandowski.
