European football: Las Palmas leave Barça reeling after Fábio Silva strikes

Barcelona suffered their first home defeat of the season as Las Palmas stunned the Spanish league leaders 2-1 at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Saturday.

Barcelona have played superbly in the first three months under new coach Hansi Flick. Coming into the visit of Las Palmas, Barça were flying high after convincing victories over Real Madrid in La Liga and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, winning all eight home games to start the campaign.

But Flick’s side have now gone three La Liga rounds without a win. Prior to the loss to Las Palmas, Barça fell 1-0 at Real Sociedad and drew 2-2 at Celta Vigo.

The latest defeat saw Sandro Ramírez and the Wolves loanee Fábio Silva score for the Canary Islands club, either side of Raphina’s equaliser.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal returned as a half-time substitute from a right ankle injury that had sidelined with for three weeks, but Jasper Cillessen saved his best effort. The Las Palmas goalkeeper also did well to palm Raphinha’s free-kick over his bar in the final minutes.

The defeat also spoiled Barcelona’s 125th anniversary celebrations and the introduction of the club’s new mascot, a large yellow feline named ‘Cat’. The name is play on Barcelona’s standing as the leading club in Catalonia, with the four red stripes on Cat’s forehead referring to the Catalan flag.

Cat was first unveiled at an anniversary gala on Friday night and follows in the tradition of the club using historical landmarks to introduce new mascot, with the short-lived ‘Clam’ created for Barça’s 100th anniversary.

Barça great rivals Real Madrid, who have had their own troubles, especially in Europe, can now move ahead of Barcelona should the reigning La Liga champions win both games in-hand.