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Real Madrid came from behind to beat Las Palmas 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday (January 27). Aurelien Tchouameni bagged an 84th-minute winner as Los Blancos moved top of the league.
Carlo Ancelotti's side started the game brightly. Rodrygo had a glorious chance to fire the visitors in front after five minutes, but Alvaro Valles closed him down superbly and blocked his shot.
The Super Cup winners came close on a few more occasions but lacked the composure to make them count. The game was goalless at half-time, with Las Palmas barely offering any attacking menace.
Against the run of play, though, the Canaries went in front early after the restart. Javier Munoz tapped home a pass from Sandro Ramirez, who raced down the right side on the break.
Real Madrid equalised just 12 minutes later, with Vinicius Junior slicing home a shot from a tight angle. They looked for another goal. which came through substitute Aurelien Tchouameni.
The Frenchman, on the field for just three minutes, rose the highest in the box to head home a corner from Toni Kroos to send his side top. With 54 points from 21 games, Los Blancos are two points ahead of high-flying Girona, while Las Palmas are down in eighth with just 31 points from 22 games.
Here are the hits and flops from the game:
Hit: Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid)
What a way to celebrate your birthday, Aurelien Tchouameni turned 24, and he marked the occasion with a goal that sealed all three points for Real Madrid.
The Frenchman met an inch-perfect set-piece delivery from Kroos and directed his header into the back of the net. Having only entered the fray in the 81st minute, Tchouameni didn't waste much time to make an impact. Carlo Ancelotti also deserves some credit for the substitution.
Flop: Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
It's not often that you see a player of Rodrygo's calibre being deemed a 'flop'. But every good player has a bad day, and the Brazilian had one on Saturday at the Gran Canaria.
He missed a huge opportunity to score early on. Beating the offside trap to race clear of the Las Palmas defence, Rodrygo was left with only the goalkeeper Alvaro Valles to beat but contrived to waste the chance by firing right at him.
The 23-year-old then got into an altercation with Valles, which culimated in Rodrygo slapping the goalkeeper and earning himself a booking, but some would say that he deserved to have gotten sent off.
Unfortunately for Madrid, the winger never recovered from that miss. Rodrygo missed another chance in the 35th minute and was also lucky to avoid a second yellow later.
Hit: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
It's rare that Real Madrid won a game, and Toni Kroos wasn't integral to it (unless, he's not playing at all). The midfield maestro had a top game in the Canary Islands and also assisted the winner with an immaculate set-piece delivery.
A reliable outlet for passes, Kroos was at the heart of almost every Real Madrid offensive move. He completed 95% of his passes, made eight crosses and 15 long balls and also creating four chances.
Being the set-piece king that he is, Kroos' best moment of the game was obviously finding Tchouameni in a crowded box with a great corner, while the Frenchman did the rest. It was indeed a Man of the Match performance.
Flop: Alberto Moleiro (Las Palmas)
Las Palmas' defence was resolute once again, but their attack was running on fumes. Alberto Moliero, in particular, flattered to deceive, failing to muster a shot on target and completing only nine passes in 69 minutes of action.
The 20-year-old was an outcast for much of the clash and struggled to cause any real trouble in Real Madrid's box. His contributions off the ball were minimal too, struggling to regain possession and not tracking back enough when the Canaries were on the back foot.
Hit: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
He has had to face a fare share of injuries this season, but that hasn't stopped Vinicius Junior from delivering. The Brazilian came into the game on the back of 10 goals from 18 games across competitions and added to that tally.
Rather subdued in the opening stanza, with his magical first-touch missing and dribblings at a bare minimum, Vinicius burst into life after the break with his neat footwork and devastating link-ups.
Just after the hour mark, the 23-year-old got on the scoresheet, racing lear of Las Palmas' highline to connect with a looping cross from Eduardo Camavinga and firing home from a tight angle.
