La Liga: Barcelona edges Las Palmas with late Gundogan goal; Sevilla loses 0-2 to Athletic

Ilkay Gundogan from FC Barcelona is seen jubilating as he scores their second goal against Las Palmas. Reuters took the picture.

Ilkay Gundogan of FC Barcelona celebrates his goal against Las Palmas, which marked their team's second score. This photo was taken by REUTERS.

Barcelona managed to secure a win of 2-1 against Las Palmas by scoring a penalty kick during the additional time, ensuring that they stay in the same position as Real Madrid and Girona who are leading in the Spanish league on Thursday.

During added time, Ilkay Gundogan scored a penalty kick by aiming towards the center of the goal, which enabled Barcelona to stay within a seven-point range of both Madrid and Girona as they reach the season's midway point.

On Wednesday, Madrid managed to secure a 1-0 victory against Mallorca, making them currently higher than Girona due to a tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Girona pulled off an impressive 4-3 win against Atletico Madrid, who are in fifth place.

"Winning is proving to be difficult for everyone," commented Xavi Hernández, coach of Barcelona. "Girona managed to secure a victory with just seconds to spare, Madrid only managed a goal from a corner in the 80th minute, and we scraped through with a penalty awarded in the dying moments of the game. We have the ability to win the league and it's important for others to show respect to the current champions."

Barcelona did not perform well in their last match. They had lost three times before winning a game against the last-place team, Almeria. During the game, Barcelona's fans booed them because their performance was not good.

In the first half, Las Palmas, who are in the middle of the table, had the power and had some opportunities to score, but didn't take advantage of them. Meanwhile, Barcelona couldn't manage a single shot on target and went into the break with a scoreless draw.

"It was crucial for us to secure the victory," expressed Ferran Torres, who plays as a forward for Barcelona. "Unfortunately, in the first half, we couldn't quite manage to get the timing correct with the final pass."

The people running the game strongly objected to the penalty that ultimately led to the winning goal and Daley Sinkgraven being given a red card for supposedly pushing Gundogan in the penalty box.

Munir El Haddadi, a prior athlete of Barcelona, managed to score a goal for Las Palmas during the 11th minute of the match, while Torres was able to tie the game at the 55th minute from a goal shot within the area.

Las Palmas hasn't won a match in three tries and has been unsuccessful in defeating Barcelona in their last 15 league matches. During that span, they have only managed to achieve five draws and have suffered 10 losses.

During the match at Gran Canaria Stadium, Joao Cancelo, who plays for Barcelona as a defender, suffered an injury and had to leave the game after just 10 minutes.

An 18-year-old Brazilian newcomer named Vitor Roque has just made his first appearance for Barcelona. He took over for Torres in the 78th minute. Roque failed to score a couple of easy opportunities after Barcelona secured a lead towards the end of the match.

There was a short delay at the commencement of the second portion of play due to the need for repairs to the net in one of the goal posts.

Ramos gets into an argument with a fan.

Sevilla FC's Sergio Ramos responded with disappointment when he failed to take advantage of an opportunity during their La Liga game against Athletic Bilbao. | Image Source: Getty Images

Sevilla FC's Sergio Ramos responds to a missed opportunity in the La Liga game versus Athletic Bilbao. The image's attribution goes to Getty Images.

Sevilla faced more difficulties as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at home against Athletic Bilbao. To add to their woes, Sergio Ramos engaged in a heated exchange with a supporter during his interview after the game.

The experienced defender was chatting with a TV journalist on the edge of the field when he suddenly got upset and retorted fiercely to a spectator who was seemingly shouting at him from the bleachers.

"Show some consideration, we are having a conversation. Honor the supporters and the emblem. Show your appreciation for the supporters and be quiet at this moment," Ramos shouted.

"We have no choice but to persevere through it all. This is the current circumstance," he expressed to the journalist. "We sympathize with the fans' discontentment, which is to be expected. It has been quite some time since we have won, and since we have been able to bring them any joy."

Sevilla, a renowned team from southern Madrid, suffered their fifth loss in six games across various competitions. This defeat pushed them down to the 16th spot in the standings, with only one point separating them from the danger zone of relegation.

Sevilla has been struggling in their past 13 league games, winning only once against Granada who is currently in second to last place.

Athletic secured their third consecutive win in the league and climbed up to fourth place after Mikel Vesga and Aitor Paredes each netted a goal in the first and second halves respectively.

The Athletic team was missing their forward, Iñaki Williams, as he is set to participate in the African Cup of Nations with Ghana.

In the latest league match, Osasuna emerged victorious with a score of 1-0 against Almeria, who currently hold the position of bottom place on the league table. Almeria has yet to secure a victory this season.

In the 27th minute, Ante Budimir managed to score the decisive goal for Osasuna, a team that has won two out of its last three games following a six-game streak without a victory.

Almeria has lost 14 times in the league so far this season and their only win has been against a team from a lower division in the Copa del Rey.