Barcelona player ratings vs Las Palmas: Super subs to the rescue! Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres make the difference as Hansi Flick’s men go top of La Liga

Barcelona’s bench got them out of trouble as the Blaugrana usurped Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga with a battling victory at Las Palmas

Substitutes Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres inspired Barcelona to a hard-fought 2-0 win at Las Palmas to return to the top of La Liga on Saturday.

After a shock 2-1 defeat to Las Palmas last November, the hosts looked to pick up where they left off as they forced a number of good early saves from Wojciech Szczesny.

The visitors, on the other hand, were disjointed, many players were off-colour, and they struggled to create any meaningful openings in the first half.

Barca carved out their best chance of the game on the hour mark when Lamine Yamal’s cross found the head of Raphinha, but the Brazilian could only head well wide.

Then Olmo provided the match’s first real bit of quality when he beat one defender and then smashed an unstoppable strike in off the bar to make it 1-0 in the 62nd minute.

The away side’s nerves were jangling when it looked like Las Palmas would receive a penalty for an Eric Garcia handball but a lengthy VAR review went in Barca’s favour.

To add a bit more gloss to the scoreline, fellow substitute Torres rattled a rasping drive past Jasper Cillessen to leapfrog Atletico Madrid into first but rivals Real Madrid can draw level with them if they beat Girona on Sunday.

GOAL rates Barcelona’s players from Estadio Gran Canaria…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Wojciech Szczesny (7/10):

  Is looking more assured in between the sticks as he preserved Barca’s clean sheet with some good saves.

  Jules Kounde (5/10):

  Offered little in attack and didn’t seem to pull up many trees in defence, either.

  Eric Garcia (7/10):

  Looked pretty solid when called upon, with the defender appearing to be growing in confidence week-on-week.

  Pau Cubarsi (7/10):

  Fared pretty well against the combative Oli McBurnie and swept up nicely in his team’s final third.

  Alejandro Balde (7/10):

  Was largely untroubled at the back and looked a threat going forward.

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    Midfield

    Marc Casado (6/10):

    Got stuck in as usual but sometimes struggled against Las Palmas’ physical midfield.

    Pedri (6/10):

    The former Las Palmas youngster didn’t have a particularly noteworthy return to his old club but received a warm reception.

    Fermin Lopez (5/10):

    Struggled to make much of an impact and was hooked at half time.

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      Attack

      Lamine Yamal (6/10):

      Was very underwhelming for long periods as little came off the for the teenager. However, in the final quarter of the game, he began to come alive with some silky skills.

      Robert Lewandowski (5/10):

      Was a virtual spectator for most of the encounter but didn’t get much, if any, service.

      Raphinha (7/10):

      The winger put in the hard yards but little fell to the Barcelona captain on the night.

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        Subs & Manager

        Dani Olmo (8/10):

        The Spain international provided the spark that his side greatly needed with an excellent individual goal.

        Frenkie de Jong (6/10):

        Was booked before he even came onto the pitch but kept the ball well when called upon.

        Ferran Torres (8/10):

        Scored with virtually his first kick of the game, courtesy of an emphatic finish.

        Hansi Flick (7/10):

        His decision to bring on Olmo for Lopez at the break worked wonders but this was an unconvincing display from his team.

      Source goal.com