Mueez Ajao
– Barcelona and Espanyol played out a fierce 1-1 draw in a Catalan derby in which both teams finished with 10 men.
– Barca went ahead in the seventh minute through a Marcos Alonso header, before Espanyol pegged them back through a Joselu penalty in the 73rd minute.
– The game then descended into farce as referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz sent off Jordi Alba and the Espanyol pair of Vinicius Souza and Leandro Cabrera in quick succession — before rescinding Cabrera’s red after a VAR review.
Also Read: Espanyol protests against Lewandowski decision, calling it an ‘injustice’
– The build-up to the game had been overshadowed by controversy after Robert Lewandowski had a three-match ban temporarily lifted for the derby, a decision which Espanyol branded an “injustice.”
– Barca took the lead in the seventh minute when Alonso headed home after a corner was played across goal by Andreas Christensen following a knockdown from Lewandowski.
– Espanyol were given a way back in the 71st minute when Joselu went down under a challenge from Alonso, and the striker duly stepped up to slot past Marc-Andre Ter-Stegen from the penalty spot.
– With the derby heating up, Alba saw red in the 78th minute after Lahoz showed him a second yellow card.
– There were two more sendings-off in the 80th minute as Souza received a second yellow card while Cabrera was shown a straight red, before Cabrera’s red card for a kick on Lewandowski was overturned.
– Christensen and Lewandowski had two golden chances to win the game late on, but Alvaro Fernandez saved brilliantly from the centre-back’s header and foiled Lewandowski when the striker was one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 31, 2022
