Las Palmas have to settle for a draw (0-0)

The game presented the chance to move up the table and to gain breathing space against a direct rival in the fight for first division survival, Quique Sánchez Flores’ Espanyol. The eighth game of the season started off with Las Palmas taking the game to their opponents, while Espanyol played a pressing game in an attempt to stifle the home team’s attacks.

The return of Jonathan Viera to the starting line up was meant to spur on their attacking threat which has been a potent force at this early stage of the season. The game started at a high pace, and both teams created dangerous chances. The first real chance of the game was from a free kick following a foul on Dani Castellano. Viera had a shot on goal, but was just wide with his effort.

The home team’s dominance was growing as Espanyol’s pressure started to drop, and this was the story of the first quarter of an hour, in which the compass led by Roque and Vicente Gómez began to make headway on the visitor’s goal. A superb move by Viera set up Prince, whose shot from inside the area forced Diego López into a sharp save to turn the ball behind for a corner.

The game began to settle down, and Las Palmas were able to take a foothold and play to their strengths. Livaja got a clear sight on goal in the 19th minute, and once again Diego López was forced into a save, again turning the Croatian’s effort behind for a corner, in the 20th minute. Espanyol’s best effort came with a counter attack that was cleared heroically by David García, a tower of strength who managed to keep out what would have been a clear goal by Baptistao, right on the half hour mark, to keep the score at 0-0.

Las Palmas started the second half by trying to hit their rival hard, with a sliding effort by Prince that tested Diego López. Quique Setien’s team tried every way possible to break down their rival’s defence, as he made several changes from the bench to try to break the rythm of the game. He brought on Tyronne and Araujo, in place of Vicente and Prince respectively.

Time was running out and Espanyol started to create chances of their own on the counter attack. A goal threatened as the game neared its finish, with great uncertainty, as the deadlock could be broken at any moment. The home team looked to get on the score sheet in the final few minutes, as they had done in previous encounters, but in the end the goal never materialized, and they had to be content with a point against a rival who stood firm all through the game, and who even had a last gasp chance to take the three points.