Real Madrid defeats Las Palmas and takes the lead in LaLiga from the penalty spot (4-1)

The Real Madrid continues its path to redemption after the historic humiliation suffered against FC Barcelona in the Supercopa de España final. The whites returned to action in LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25 against UD Las Palmas at the Santiago Bernabéu and seized the top of the standings with a 4-1 victory, propelled by their ninth penalty in the championship.

And the night could not have started worse for Carlo Ancelotti's team. Just 25 seconds into the match, Fábio Silva took advantage of a precise cross from Sandro Ramírez to open the scoring, ringing an early alarm bell.

The whites managed to recover from the blow dealt by the Canarians and in the 18th minute equalized thanks to a goal from Kylian Mbappé from the penalty spot. The penalty awarded to the hosts, this time for a stomp by Sandro on Rodrygo inside the area, was the ninth awarded this season in the league, making the merengues the team with the best penalty record in the tournament with 9 in favor and 0 against (+9).

Madrid leads LaLiga... in penalties awarded

This maximum penalty awarded to Madrid comes a day after the 'theft' perpetrated against Barça in Getafe. The culés had a clear penalty stolen from them due to a brutal foul committed on Jules Koundé, who was tackled as if he were an NFL 'wide receiver', highlighting that refereeing decisions always seem to favor the same teams, who get a penalty for every two matches in this edition of the league championship.

Despite the fact that the foul by Sandro on Rodrygo was rightly called for an evident stomp, the reality is that the rest of the 8 penalties awarded to the whites are, at the very least, questionable. Especially considering that they have not been awarded a single penalty against them, when shameful infractions like Lunin's on Swedberg have occurred in several of the merengues' matches.

Madrid reaches the top of the table

The Frenchman's goal opened the 'floodgates' for the Madrid players, who took control of the match and completed the comeback with a goal from Brahim Díaz in the 33rd minute. Just 3 minutes later, Mbappé celebrated his double and sent the teams to the locker room with a 3-1 scoreline, a result that increased at the start of the second half with a goal from Rodrygo, whose goal sealed a match that had at least 30 minutes too many.

In this way, the merengue team takes the lead in LaLiga (46) after the slip-up of Atlético de Madrid (44) against Leganés (1-0). Furthermore, they put distance between themselves and Barça, who are now seven points behind in the standings (39).

This difference is not reflected on the pitch, where the culés have clearly shown to be superior to the Madrid players (who have suffered two 'beatings' to remember), but due to specific details and many refereeing controversies, they have let key points slip away, highlighting how unfair and cruel football can be.

Match details:

• Real Madrid, 4: Courtois; Lucas Vázquez (Loren Aguado, min. 87), Asencio, Rüdiger (Alaba, min. 76), F. García; Ceballos (Chema, min. 83), Fede Valverde, Bellingham; Rodrygo (Endrick, min. 83), Brahim Díaz (Güler, min. 76) y Mbappé.
• Las Palmas, 1: Cillesen; Suárez, Herzog (Ramírez, min. 46), McKenna, Muñoz (Loiodice, min. 58); Mika Mármol, Muñoz, Rodríguez, Sandro Ramírez (Cardona, min. 80), Moleiro (Fuster, min. 58) y Silva (McBurnie, min. 69).
• Goals: 0-1, Fábio Silva (min. 1); 1-1, Kylian Mbappé (min. 18); 2-1, Brahim Díaz (min. 33); 3-1, Kylian Mbappé (min. 36); 4-1, Rodrygo (min. 57).
• Referee: Quintero González. He cautioned Sandro Ramírez and sent off Benito Ramírez.