Plucky Pio-pio takes point from Real Madrid
A determined Las Palmas frustrated flat Real Madrid 1-1 at Estadio Gran Canaria, rising star Alberto Moleiro firing the home side into the lead, before Vinicius equalised via the penalty spot late on.
Vinicius Junior's penalty ensured Real Madrid left the Estadio de Gran Canaria with a point as it drew 1-1 against Las Palmas.
Alberto Moleiro had given the host a shock lead in the fifth minute, but Vinicius would net from 12 yards to swing the encounter back in Madrid's favour.
However, Carlo Ancelotti's star-studded line-up was unable to find a way through.
A frantic start to proceedings saw Moleiro produce a moment of magic to skip beyond Aurelien Tchouameni and Eder Militao before firing low into the far corner.
Madrid would register nine shots in the opening 45 minutes, three of which were on target, but it was unable to test Jasper Cillessen in the Las Palms net.
However, parity was restored when defender Alex Suarez was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area, with Vinicius stepping up to score from the spot.
Kylian Mbappe endured another difficult outing in front of goal, with only two of his nine shots on target as he still awaits his first LaLiga goal for his new side.
Ancelotti's side is fourth in the early-season standings with five points from its first three games, four behind El Clasico rival and table-topping Barcelona.
The coach said he expected his team to play better together and blamed himself, insisting it his responsibility to make matters click.
"It is clear that we are struggling to find the soundness of last season," he said.
"But we must not look for excuses. The schedule is tight and we have to recover quickly, because on Sunday we have another game.
"I need to have a clearer strategy, to give the players more clarity in what I want. It's costing us more than we thought. We have to work and concentrate on the path we want to take."
Ancelotti said the whole team, not just individuals, must improve.
"Our game has been slow. There is not much mobility and the strikers are receiving the ball with the opposing teams already close.
"When we don't have the ball, we leave too many spaces between the lines.
"I don't think it's a mental problem, because the team trains well. It's just that sometimes you don't find the best way to play.... Things are not going well and we have to fix it soon."
Vinicius has scored all four of his penalties for Real Madrid in all competitions, all of which have come in 2024.
The Brazilian looked Los Blancos' biggest threat in the forward areas, contributing an expected goals (xG) of 1.23 to Madrid's 2.81 total.
However, it was another night to forget for Mbappe. The Frenchman is the player in the top five European Leagues this season who has had the most shots (17) and who has the worst difference between xG (1.8) and goals scored (none).
