Las Palmas had several new faces in their line-up, due to injuries and other absentees from the last few games. Youth player Pedri was with the Spanish under 18 side in Qatar, while Rubén Castro and De la Bella were on the subs bench due to muscle injuries. Despite these setbacks, Pepe Mel started with the Castellano brothers and lanky striker Pekhart.
After just three minutes the VAR over-ruled a goal for Almería for offside, an own goal by Martín Mantovani. Las Palmas held it together and back to gain more possession. Álvaro Lemos looked dangerous down the wing, and just when Las Palmas were in control Alméria scored their opening goal (m. 22), following a cross-shot by Romera which sneaked into the far top corner of the goal defended by Josep.
The away side, having gained the lead, were quite efficient on the break. Las Palmas went all out in search of an equaliser, putting their faith in their most talented players Kirian and Cedrés, along with Czech player Pekhart looking to get into space. However, they were unable to make inroads into the away side’s area defended by René. Half time came with Almería holding their 0-1 advantage, and the home side unable to find a way through.
When the second half was ten minutes old, Pepe Mel looked for alternatives, bringing on Columbian player Juanjo Narváez in place of Javi Castellano. But Almería, in another quick counter attack, went 0-2 up with a goal by José Corpas. The game became an uphill struggle for Las Palmas who worked hard not to let the home fans down. They began to take more risks with the introduction of forwards Drolé and Rubén Castro, but the team didn’t react. Almería were rock-solid in defence. The away side even scored a third goal four minutes before the end of the match through Vada, running out 0-3 winners.
