A penalty goal from Joselu equaled a derby that Xavi’s men had not managed to close. The referee dynamited the end of the clash with his decisions and his continuous reprimands. Alba and Vini, expelled
In Robert Lewandowski and Joselu. In the end, the great protagonist of a derby between Bara and Espanyol that ended in a draw was Mateu Lahoz. And not because of the penalty play that allowed the blue and white striker to equalize Marcos Alonso’s initial goal. The referee’s attitude, capable of taking Ansu Fati to an exaggerated aside to get his attention, respond with an apparent sweetheart to Xavi After a protest and ending up expelling three players, one of them finally saved by the VAR, he lit up the spirits of the Camp Nou and ended up scoring a game in which the Catalans, to tell the truth, did not know how to take advantage of their greater control of the duel to get all three points. [1-1: Narracin y estadsticas]
On the blue and white side, in addition to the claw of his great pointed reference, his goalkeeper also shone, lvaro fernandez. Just when that position is still very much in question. The tie, that’s right, allows some to maintain the leadership, due to their better overall goal difference with Real Madrid, and others to leave the relegation places.
Bara almost monopolized the ball throughout the first 45 minutes, but that superiority in possession was not reflected on the scoreboard. At halftime, they were leading 1-0, thanks to an action with the participation of Lewandowski in the middle after a corner in which Mark Alonso he ended up sending the ball into the back of the net with an almost unopposed header. The Catalans frequently came to the Espanyol area. And they found the shot again and again. Not so, however, the path of the goal. On the visiting side, meanwhile, all the lack of forcefulness that, at times, denoted his rear was the opposite in vanguard positions. There, on time, the blue and white forwards exhibited more bite, either to take advantage of the mistake in the rival’s pass or to try to win the ball. His attempts, however, achieved little reward.
little prey
On the other side of the field, the one who appeared the most was Raphinha. Ansu Fati and Lewandowski, meanwhile, despite their efforts, they had more difficulties coming into contact with the ball. The Brazilian, precisely, with a shot that the blue and white goalkeeper destroyed as best he could, in the final stretch of the first half, and again Marcos Alonso, with a shot from point-blank range after a cross from Jordi Albawhen the first 20 minutes of the duel had barely been played, they were in fact the ones who signed the clearest actions for a Bara that went to the changing rooms with an advantage, but leaving loopholes so that Espanyol, despite its shortcomings, could think still with the option of starting something from his visit to the Camp Nou.
After the break, Espanyol sought to take a step forward to take advantage of that breath of air that Bara had insisted on giving them throughout the first half. And he found his opportunity through a penalty committed by Marcos Alonso on Joselu that the blue and white striker sent into the back of the net to make it 1-1 with just over 15 minutes to go. The play, much protested by the stands, despite its clarity, inflamed the spirits to the extreme against a Mateu Lahoz who already made it clear in the World Cup that he loves to be the protagonist. The whistles and screams, perhaps, led him to end up losing his temper. So much so that he even ended up expelling Jordi Alba for a double yellow, further unleashing the anger of the Barcelona fans. The absolute loss of control of the game by the referee would be even clearer with a direct red card to Cabrera due to a clash with Lewandowski that would come to nothing at the end after consulting the VAR and the expulsion for a double yellow Vinicius Souza.
Bara, with this new panorama, turned to attack, but at all times found himself with an Álvaro Fernández erected as a wall to keep the tie like gold on a cloth. The end of the game, which had up to nine minutes of added time, was a harassment and demolition of the blue and white area by Barcelona, without success, and in which Mateu Lahoz, with decisions strongly protested by both sides, insisted on continuing to monopolize a large part from the limelight and ended up being fired by a loud whistle.
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