Season in review: Las Palmas film backwards redemption story but still come out heroes

Story of the season

If you had flipped Las Palmas‘ season back to front, you would get a heroic redemption run to safety, as Pio Pio finally put it together and clicked in the second half of the season –  as it was, the mood in Gran Canaria was a little less cheery.

After a rough start, once they got their first win over Granada in matchday five, Las Palmas just kept on improving. Through January, they had the second-best defensive record in the league, and while they were lacking goals, their possession-heavy system was being hailed.

Closer to Europe than relegation, Las Palmas took their foot off the pedal, and went on a disastrous eight-game losing streak which threatened to put them in bother. As it was, three draws to end the season weren’t exactly celebratory.

Grade Explanation

It has to be remembered that Las Palmas were hot favourites to go down at the start of the season, and were it not for the fashion it played out in, this would be regarded as a rousing success.

One of the two lowest salary limits in La Liga, Garcia Pimienta found a way to make it work, and bearing in mind they did not have much in the way of goalscoring pedigree up front, built a strong defence. That run at the end of the season explains the minus – perhaps B+ would have been more just.

With safety all but assured, Las Palmas clearly weren’t as focused, and with a number of players likely moving on this summer, as well as Garcia Pimienta, who has left for Sevilla, that run is explicable if not easily forgiven for fans.

Standout moment: 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid. Friday night lights, a bold performance, they suffocated Atletico and outplayed their couterparts.

Key player: Kirian Rodriguez. Captain, leader, and perhaps on the path to legend. Top scorer from midfield, including some crackers, he dictated things in the middle of the pitch – and all a year on from his recovery from cancer.

Surprise of the season: Alvaro Valles – he wasn’t even meant to be the starter at Las Palmas, and yet became one of the best in the division this year. Like his teammates, suffered a little in the second half of the season, but both goalkeeping and on the ball was brilliant.

Glass half full

Las Palmas survived without much investment, and Luis Helguera found a gem in Mika Marmol. The security and income from this season has to show in their recruitment this summer, and while it’s early, there hasn’t been too much noise about Alberto Moleiro yet. It was a first time in La Liga for many of their squad, and now they have that experience.

Glass half empty

If their form isn’t better at the start of next season, the pressure and the demons will appear very swiftly. No manager in place, the likes of Valles, Mika Marmol, Sergi Cardona and more could move on. There’s a lot of uncertainty, and while it could go in the section above that if they find a goalscorer they stand a good chance of staying up, they have to find that goalscorer – 33 goals is unlikely to be enough two seasons in a row.