Las Palmas vs. Barcelona: Score, Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Barcelona had to dig deep to beat Las Palmas 2-1 during Saturday's La Liga action, opening up a nine point lead in the standings over Atletico Madrid, who will meet Villarreal on Sunday.

Luis Suarez opened the scoring after just six minutes, but Willian Jose tied things up almost immediately after. Las Palmas held their own against the Catalans during the first half, but the visitors reclaimed the lead through Neymar just before half-time.

Both teams had their chances in the second half, but despite a late push for an equaliser from the hosts, Barcelona held on to grab the win.

As reported by Barcelona's official Twitter account, Jeremy Mathieu was handed a start in defence, while the trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez were once again expected to wreak havoc in attack:

Las Palmas were clearly not afraid of the Catalans and came out of the gate with plenty of attacking intentions, trying their luck with a handful of set pieces. Sergi Roberto had to make a smart block to deny Roque Mesa, and the quick start had the home fans buzzing.

Unfortunately, their high hopes were short-lived. With their first real chance, the visitors opened the score, as Suarez found himself at the end of a delightful cross from Jordi Alba and slid the ball home to put his team ahead.

Per WhoScored.com, the former Liverpool man has been in sensational form of late:

The early setback didn't seem to have much of an impact on the hosts, however, and just 10 minutes into the match, Las Palmas pulled level. Jose was left wide open at the back post, and he didn't miss from close range.

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan liked what he saw from Las Palmas:

Led by Momo, the hosts continued to put pressure on the Barcelona full-backs, and as a result, the Catalans' vaunted attack didn't seem to pack its usual punch. Andres Iniesta tried to force the action with a shot from long range, but goalkeeper Javi Varas dealt with the strike easily.

Suarez should have doubled his tally after a fantastic free-kick from Messi, but somehow, the Uruguayan missed a wide-open header from close range.

The Blaugrana grew more and more frustrated as the first half wore on, not in the least because the hosts targeted Neymar throughout the match. The Brazil international took a beating on Saturday, and too often, the home side got away with a kick or shove, to the frustration of Barcelona manager Luis Enrique.

Neymar would get his revenge just before half-time, however, scoring after Varas failed to clear the ball after making the initial save. Per Copa90, the third member of the attacking trio was probably lurking:

He would have one more chance to get on the scoresheet as well before half-time, but he saw his shot blocked after some lovely work from Suarez.

At half-time, Corrigan thought the difference between both sides wasn't nearly as big as the standings would suggest:

Arda Turan made way for Ivan Rakitic at the start of the second half, as the Catalans tried to assert their dominance in midfield a little more. It almost immediately led to a goal, as Barcelona broke quickly and eventually worked the ball to Suarez, who was denied by a stunning save from Varas.

Las Palmas continued to muster chances as well, and Barcelona got lucky early in the second half, as Jose really should have done better after Bravo made a save to deny Jonathan Viera.

La Liga blogger Rafael Hernandez noted Las Palmas have a tendency to make life hard on the Catalans:

Suarez put together another typical hard-working performance against Las Palmas, but his finishing really let him down in this match. He should have put the hosts away when he was isolated in front of Varas, but he opted to flick the ball past the goalkeeper and missed the target completely.

As the half wore on, Barcelona started taking control of the ball more and more, and with Las Palmas dropping very deep to avoid another goal, the hosts' ability to strike on the counter attack suffered as well. 

Sergio Ezequiel Araujo tried his luck from the edge of the box, but his curling shot just missed the target, with Bravo beaten. The substitute was the main danger man for the hosts in the final 10 minutes, as Las Palmas pushed for an unlikely equaliser.

Per Corrigan, Barcelona were struggling at this point:

On the other side of the pitch, a free-kick from Messi only just missed the target, and replays showed the ball took a deflection along the way.

Dani Alves was lucky to espace a horrible high challenge with a yellow card, and Barcelona really seemed to be playing with fire when Thomas Vermaelen attempted to clear the ball with a diving header and missed his own goal by inches.

But despite a handful of close calls, the Catalans continued their hot stretch, beating Las Palmas 2-1 to increase their lead at the top of the La Liga standings. Real Madrid and Atletico will both be in action on Sunday.

Barcelona will travel to London to take on Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League for their next challenge, while Las Palmas will face Eibar in Week 26 of the La Liga campaign.   

Post-Match Reaction

Per the club's official Twitter account, Barcelona manager Enrique didn't think his team lacked rhythm:

He also thought it was a positive performance, although he noted there is room for improvement, saying: "I am happy with what I have seen, but we can improve things. We had chances to close out the game."

Follow @ReverschPass