Las Palmas Shock Atletico Madrid to dent slim title hopes

Javi Muñoz scored a dramatic late winner, confirmed by VAR, as relegation-threatened Las Palmas secured a surprise 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Saturday, dealing a significant blow to the visitors’ slim La Liga title hopes.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico side struggled to break down a resilient Las Palmas defence at the Estadio Gran Canaria. Both teams had opportunities in the first half; Las Palmas went close through an Alex Suárez header and a shot from Dario Essugo, while Atletico forwards Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sørloth were denied by sharp saves from home goalkeeper Dinko Horkas.

The second half saw Atletico dominate possession but create few clear openings against the disciplined hosts. The match appeared destined for a goalless draw until the dying moments.

Deep into stoppage time (90’+3′), Atletico failed to deal with a long ball, allowing Javi Muñoz to capitalize on the loose ball and fire home from close range past Jan Oblak. The goal was initially flagged for offside, but after a VAR review, the decision was overturned, sparking wild celebrations among the home supporters.

“I was certain that I wasn’t offside,” said goalscorer Muñoz. “When I saw that the ball was dead, I went to take advantage of the play. There’s a lot of fighting left but we’re going to fight until the end.”

Atletico captain Koke lamented the result: “We have to keep going. We know that LaLiga is almost impossible, but we have to prepare ourselves by working hard. We have to win against the teams at the bottom if we want to fight for LaLiga.” Defender Robin Le Normand called it a “tough defeat we have to put behind us.”

The win lifts Las Palmas temporarily out of the relegation zone into 17th place with 32 points, two clear of Alaves who play on Sunday. Atletico Madrid remain third with 63 points, now 10 points behind leaders Barcelona and three behind second-placed Real Madrid (who host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday), leaving their title challenge highly improbable.