Barcelona loses at home for the first time this season

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona lost at home for the first time this season when the Liga leader was stunned by Las Palmas 2-1 on Saturday.

Sandro Ramirez and Fábio Silva scored for the Canary Islands club on either side of Raphinha’s equalizer to give Las Palmas its first win at Barcelona in more than 50 years.

Barcelona played superbly in the first three months under new coach Hansi Flick and was flying high after convincing victories over Real Madrid in the domestic competition and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. It had won all eight of its home games.

But it has gone three rounds of La Liga without a win. Before Las Palmas, it fell at Real Sociedad 1-0 and drew at Celta Vigo 2-2 after squandering a two-goal lead in the final minutes.

The dropped points mean Madrid, despite its own troubles, especially in the Champions League, can move ahead of Barcelona in La Liga. It trails Barcelona by four points with two games in hand.

“I don’t care about scoring, I care about winning,” Raphinha said after his standout performance was unable to end Barcelona's slump.

“We have to take a hard look at what we are doing wrong. We have slipped in our form and are letting games get away form us. We have our next game on Tuesday (at Mallorca), and we need to turn this around so we can win the league.”

Atletico Madrid was only two points behind Barcelona in second place — and with the same number of games played — after Antoine Griezmann scored a gem of a goal in a 5-0 demolition of last-placed Valladolid.

Las Palmas savored its first victory at Barcelona since the 1971-72 season and just its third victory at the Catalan club overall. The other visits by the modest side that wears all yellow uniforms to Barcelona have ended in 34 defeats and three draws.

“We are thrilled because we have made history,” Sandro said. “When you start the season you think that these games are usually going to end in wins for the bigger side, but if there is one thing we believe in is our capacity to work hard all week to get results like this.”

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal returned from a right ankle injury that sidelined him for three weeks. Yamal appeared as a halftime substitute and Jasper Cillessen saved his best shot. The Las Palmas goalkeeper also palmed a Raphinha free kick over his bar in the final minutes.

Sandro, a former Barcelona youth player, capped a fine five-pass buildup by Las Palmas from its own box as it masterfully undid Barcelona’s high pressure in the 49th minute.

Raphinha had already hit the crossbar in the first half before he equalized in the 61st. The Brazil forward took a short pass from Pedri just outside the area, skirted across the edge and drilled a shot between two defenders.

But Barcelona was caught pushing forward for a second goal when Silva controlled a ball from Javi Muñoz and sent in a shot bouncing past Iñaki Peña in the 67th.

The unexpected loss dampened Barcelona’s celebration of its 125th anniversary, which included the debut of its new mascot “Cat,” a large, yellow feline wearing its team kit.

Barcelona lost left back Alejandro Balde early in the game when he couldn’t continue after he crashed into Sandro at full speed. Balde appeared to hurt his upper chest or neck area when he ran into Sandro’s shoulder. He was carried off on a stretcher and replaced by Gerard Martín.

Griezmann scored one of the goals of the season when the forward exchanged a quick one-two with Julián Alvarez and used a sleek touch of the inside of his boot to roll the ball with him as he spun before dinking it over the Valladolid goalkeeper.

That was the visitor's fourth goal. Shortly after, Valladolid fans stood up and applauded when Griezmann was substituted.

“That is what every players wants, to make people enjoy what we do. So I appreciate their warmth,” Griezmann said.

Atletico also got goals from Alvarez, Clement Lenglet, Rodrigo de Paul, and Alexander Sorloth.

Espanyol beat Celta 3-1 to end a streak of four losses in the league and relieve pressure on coach Manolo González.

Alaves also drew with Leganes 1-1 at home.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Las Palmas' players celebrate their team's 2-1 victory over Barcelona at the end of a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Las Palmas' players celebrate after their teammate Sandro Ramirez scoring the opening goal against Barcelona during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's mascot Cat waves a flag prior to a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Las Palmas at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha kicks a ball challenged by Las Palmas' Mika Marmol during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's players react after the second goal of Las Palmas during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Las Palmas' Fabio Silva celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Barcelona during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha, right, and Las Palmas' Mika Marmol fight for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Las Palmas at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha reacts after missing a chance to score a goal against Las Palmas during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick waits for the beginning of the the Spanish La Liga soccer match against Las Palmas at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Las Palmas' Viti Rozada, front, and Barcelona's Pedri fight for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Gavi reacts after missing a chance to score a goal against Las Palmas during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Las Palmas' Fabio Silva, left, and Barcelona's Inigo Martinez fight for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, right, reacts after missing a chance to score a goal against Las Palmas during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Over two dozen families from one of the few remaining Palestinian Bedouin villages in the central West Bank have packed up and fled their homes in recent days, saying harassment by Jewish settlers living in unauthorized outposts nearby has grown unbearable.

The village, Ras Ein el-Auja, was originally home to some 700 people from more than 100 families that have lived there for decades.

Twenty-six families already left on Thursday, scattering across the territory in search of safer ground, say rights groups. Several other families were packing up and leaving on Sunday.

“We have been suffering greatly from the settlers. Every day, they come on foot, or on tractors, or on horseback with their sheep into our homes. They enter people’s homes daily,” said Nayef Zayed, a resident, as neighbors took down sheep pens and tin structures.

Israel's military and the local settler governing body in the area did not respond to requests for comment.

Other residents pledged to stay put for the time being. That makes them some of the last Palestinians left in the area, said Sarit Michaeli, international director at B’Tselem, an Israeli rights group helping the residents.

She said that mounting settler violence has already emptied neighboring Palestinian hamlets in the dusty corridor of land stretching from Ramallah in the West to Jericho, along the Jordanian border, in the east.

The area is part of the 60% of the West Bank that has remained under full Israeli control under interim peace accords signed in the 1990s. Since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October 2023, over 2,000 Palestinians — at least 44 entire communities — have been expelled by settler violence in the area, B'Tselem says.

The turning point for the village came in December, when settlers put up an outpost about 50 meters (yards) from Palestinian homes on the northwestern flank of the village, said Michaeli and Sam Stein, an activist who has been living in the village for a month.

Settlers strolled easily through the village at night. Sheep and laundry went missing. International activists had to begin escorting children to school to keep them safe.

“The settlers attack us day and night, they have displaced us, they harass us in every way” said Eyad Isaac, another resident. “They intimidate the children and women.”

Michaeli said she’s witnessed settlers walk around the village at night, going into homes to film women and children and tampering with the village’s electricity.

The residents said they call the police frequently to ask for help — but it seldom arrives. Settlement expansion has been promoted by successive Israeli governments over nearly six decades. But Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which has placed settler leaders in senior positions, has made it a top priority.

That growth has been accompanied by a spike in settler violence, much of it carried out by residents of unauthorized outposts. These outposts often begin with small farms or shepherding that are used to seize land, say Palestinians and anti-settlement activists. United Nations officials warn the trend is changing the map of the West Bank, entrenching Israeli presence in the area.

Some 500,000 Israelis have settled in the West Bank since Israel captured the territory, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. Their presence is viewed by most of the international community as illegal and a major obstacle to peace. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future state.

For now, displaced families of the village have dispersed between other villages near the city of Jericho and near Hebron further south, said residents. Some sold their sheep and are trying to move into the cities.

Others are just dismantling their structures without knowing where to go.

"Where will we go? There’s nowhere. We’re scattered,” said Zayed, the resident, “People’s situation is bad. Very bad.”

An Israeli settler herds his flock near his outpost beside the Palestinian village of Ras Ein al-Auja in the West Bank, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A Palestinian resident of Ras Ein al-Auja village, West Bank burns trash, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinian children play in the West Bank village of Ras Ein al-Auja, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinian residents of Ras Ein al-Auja village, West Bank pack up their belongings and prepare to leave their homes after deciding to flee mounting settler violence, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinian residents of Ras Ein al-Auja village, West Bank pack up their belongings and prepare to leave their homes after deciding to flee mounting settler violence, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)