Real Madrid vs. Las Palmas: Score and Reaction from 2017 La Liga Match
Cristiano Ronaldo rescued a dramatic late point for Real Madrid against Las Palmas at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday in a stunning 3-3 draw in La Liga, with Gareth Bale sent off for the hosts early in the second half.
The match started at a breathless pace, with Isco's brilliant opener cancelled out by an equally impressive equaliser from Tana.
In the second half, Bale picked up two bookings in quick succession after an uncharacteristic loss of discipline. The dismissal handed the initiative to the visitors, who netted a sharp double through Jonathan Viera's penalty and Kevin-Prince Boateng.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
But Ronaldo took over with five minutes remaining, hammering in a penalty and then heading home an equaliser in injury time.
The defeat means Barcelona will top La Liga by one point heading into this weekend's round of fixtures having played a game more than Madrid; the Blaugrana secured a comfortable 6-1 win over Sporting Gijon earlier in the day.
Having left out a few key men, Zinedine Zidane would have been delighted to have seen his side start on the front foot and grab an early lead.
Two of the men drafted in linked up to great effect, too, with Mateo Kovacic finding Isco in space with an incisive, slide-rule ball. With time to pick his spot, the Spaniard rolled a cool finish into the corner.
Per Bleacher Report UK, it was a landmark goal for the club:
However, Las Palmas roared back into contention almost instantly, with Tana picking the ball up on the edge of the box and spinning a hapless Sergio Ramos.
There was still plenty to do as he bore down on goal, but the Las Palmas man struck a sweet strike beyond Keylor Navas to level the scores.
It was a blow Madrid failed to recover from for a long time. While Alvaro Morata had a goal ruled out for offside, it was the visitors who were controlling the tempo of the game. ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan praised the manner of Las Palmas' performance at half-time:
They were given more encouragement early in the second period after a couple of moments of madness from Bale.
First the Welshman kicked out at Viera and then shoved him in the chest in front of the match official. He was issued with two yellow cards and left his team to play almost all of the second period with 10 men.
Per WhoScored.com, it's been a long time since Bale last saw red:
Having controlled the game when it was 11 against 11, Las Palmas started to turn the screw with the man advantage, and quickly they were in front.
Ramos was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Viera stepped up confidently, and while Navas got a hand to the effort, it was too pure a strike.
And what did Las Palmas do after taking the lead? Kept on pushing forward, and within three minutes, their advantage was doubled. Navas opted to charge out of his goal in an attempt to shut down the onrushing Boateng, but the Madrid goalkeeper was beaten to the ball, leaving the Ghana international with an empty net to fire into.
Per Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett, the Canary Islanders were on the cusp of a remarkable result:
Real threw men forward late on, and Cristiano Ronaldo should have made it 3-2, but his close-range header struck the bar. However, the Portuguese would yet have his say on the contest.
In the 85th minute, it looked as though he'd scored a consolation from the penalty spot after his cross into the box was handled.
But the four-time World Player of the Year showed exactly why he's rated as one of the best ever beyond the 90th minute, heading home from a corner to earn his team a thrilling draw.
Bale's red card will be deemed the turning point in this match, but long before the forward was dismissed, Las Palmas looked the more assured and more threatening side in the final third. As a result, the visitors will be distraught that they were unable to hold on.
Ronaldo showed exactly why he's so important to this team, though. Despite playing poorly for much of the match, he won a penalty, scored it and then produced a crucial moment when his side were on their knees.
Post-Match Reaction
After the match, Zidane spoke about the team’s fighting spirit and Bale’s red card too, per Corrigan:
Marcelo also admitted he wasn’t sure how Los Blancos managed to emerge from the match with a point. "We must improve many things, during the game we are not doing things that before the game we say we will do," he told Spanish television, per Corrigan. "In the end we got the draw, I don’t know how, with help of all the team…"
