BARCELONA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 30: Alejandro Balde of FC Barcelona receives medical treatment before leaving the field during the LaLiga EA Sports match between FC Barcelona and UD Las Palmas at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on November 30, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
Alejandro Balde was left clutching at his neck after a collision during Barcelona's defeat to Las Palmas
Barcelona star Alejandro Balde had to be stretchered off during his side's defeat to Las Palmas after appearing to vomit blood.
Balde started the La Liga clash at left-back, having been a regular under Hansi Flick so far this season. The hosts had chosen Saturday's clash for their 125th anniversary celebrations, having surged to first place in the Spanish top flight.
Barca duly dominated possession at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys but were left frustrated by their visitors. The game was then overshadowed 26 minutes in when Balde collided with Sandro Ramirez.
The duo had been wrestling for the ball when Balde fell to the floor holding his neck. The 21-year-old appeared to be coughing and choking as Barca's team medics rushed over the treat him.
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The Spaniard then began vomiting what appeared to be blood before being put on a stretcher and taken off. Gerard Martin replaced him, with team-mate Fermin Lopez confirming afterwards that thankfully Balde is "better now" after being able to speak to the fullback.
Things went from bad to worse for Flick's side when Ramierz opened the scoring with a fantastic finish. Raphinha soon got the hosts back on level terms with a left-footed effort past Jasper Cillessen.
But Las Palmas sprung a surprise when Wolves loanee Fabio Silva sneaked through the offside trap to get on the end of a pass from Javi Munoz. Silva shrugged off a defender before finding the net to help his side claim all three points.
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BARCELONA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 30: Alejandro Balde of FC Barcelona leaves the field on a buggy after suffering an injury during the LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and UD Las Palmas at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on November 30, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Balde had to be stretchered off after suffering his injury ( Image: Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Saturday's defeat was Barca's third successive La Liga outing without a win. Fierce rivals Real Madrid are now just four points behind Barca with two games in hand, but boss Flick is remaining calm.
"There are games like the one today where this can happen. We had the ball today and we created chances, but we didn't get the goals. The players believe in the way we are playing," he said.
"They know how good they are. But these games have shown that we need to work harder in training. We need to play better on Tuesday than we did today. The team are young. They recover well and fast."
Raphinha was not quite as calm as his manager and ripped into his team-mates after the defeat. He fumed: “We ( Barcelona ) have been doing poorly. We’re lowering the level of what we were doing. We have to keep working.
“There are many things we are doing wrong. We have to turn things around on Tuesday (against Mallorca). I’m angry, I don’t care much about my goal.”
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